Controllable buoys and networked buoy systems

ABSTRACT

Buoyant sensor networks are described, comprising floating buoys with sensors and energy harvesting capabilities. The buoys can control their buoyancy and motion, and can organize communication in a distributed fashion. Some buoys may have tethered underwater vehicles with a smart spooling system that allows the vehicles to dive deep underwater while remaining in communication and connection with the buoys.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/006,698 filed on Jun. 2, 2014, and U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/153,322 filed on Apr. 27, 2015, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The presentapplication may also be related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.______, titled “CONTROLLABLE BUOYS AND NETWORKED BUOY SYSTEMS”, AttorneyDocket No. P1698-US, and filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The invention described herein was made in the performance of work undera NASA contract, and is subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517(35 USC 202) in which the Contractor has elected to retain title.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a few specific architectures anddesigns of the controllable and reconfigurable networked buoy systems.More particularly, it relates to controllable and reconfigurablenetworked buoy systems capable of monitoring and providing communicationover an area of interest on the surface, inside, or under the surface ofthe ice or water. The networked controllable buoy systems could providemonitoring, communication, positioning capabilities and exhibitpersistence, intelligence and controllable maritime networking, betweenthe above-sea communication nodes and instruments (e.g., satellites,airplanes and balloons) to the surface (e.g., vessels) and submergedunderwater instruments and vehicles, such as submarines, and seabedoil-structure instruments and sensors over vast marine regions.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the disclosure, a buoy is described, the buoycomprising a shell; at least one communication device; at least oneenergy-providing device; and at least one tethered vehicle attached tothe buoy by a tethering cable, the tethering cable being spooled in oneof the shell or the at least one tethered vehicle.

In a second aspect of the disclosure, a buoy is described, the buoycomprising: a shell; at least one communication device; at least oneenergy-providing device; at least one propulsion unit; and an extendibletube comprising a means for penetrating ice.

In a third aspect of the disclosure, a method to organize a plurality ofbuoys is described, the method comprising: providing a plurality ofbuoys, each buoy comprising: a shell; at least one sensor; at least onecommunication device; at least one energy-providing device; at least oneprocessor; a plurality of spoolers, each spooler comprising a motor, themotor configured to deploy and reel-in a tethering cable; and aplurality of tethered vehicles attached to the buoy by the tetheringcable, the plurality of tethered vehicle each comprising a propulsionunit, at least one further communication device and at least one furthersensor; and programming the plurality of buoys with a plurality ofcontingencies and behaviors.

In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a method to organize a pluralityof buoys is described, the method comprising: providing a plurality ofbuoys, each buoy comprising: a shell; at least one sensor; at least onecommunication device; at least one energy-providing device; at least oneprocessor; and at least one propulsion unit; and programming theplurality of buoys with a plurality of contingencies and behaviors.

Controllable Buoys

The present disclosure describes controllable buoys (also referred to asjust “buoys”) and buoy systems deployed in a liquid environment, forexample, a pool, lake, ocean, or even a liquid methane sea on anastronomical body.

The buoys are controllable in the sense that they are capable ofcontrolled movement or getting configured to perform some certain tasksin some certain time, location, or situations. The task could berelaying data and communication signals from other buoys or externalcommunication assets, such as the satellites, submarines, vessels,balloons, or airplane missioned in the area. The task could also be toperform sensing and mapping some environmental factors (e.g., windspeed, temperature, water salinity, pollutants, bathometry, presence ofthe ice), perform computation on the collected data (e.g. gettingaverage on them), and relaying the collected data back to the networkand the system's stakeholders. Conversely, the movement can includebuoy's movement along the surface of the water, and this can includechanging the buoyancy of the buoy, to sink to a certain depth or returnto the surface under certain pre-defined circumstances, to launch itstethered-underwater-vehicle into the deeper water, or to retrieve themby tethering them up to the surface, to move to a newly defined area, orto change location based on sensor readings from the buoy. Control canexist to the collection of the networked buoys and in a collaborativeand distributed fashion. The buoys, which have peer-to-peercommunication with each other, might decide to share tasks in order tooptimize the performance of the system (e.g., covering an area ofinterest with the resolution given by the stakeholders), or to save theavailable resources of the system such as the power (for example not allneighboring buoys would repeat the same exact list of tasks when theyare within a spatial resolution defined by the stakeholders). Instead,they can negotiate with each other such that each buoy would performonly a few of the tasks requested and they will finish all the tasksgiven with their collaboration. Control includes a buoy's learning fromthe experience of the other networked buoys. For example, if one buoysgoes in a certain area where there exist a hazardous object or event(e.g., falling ice or crushing waves), it might warn the other networkedbuoys to avoid the hazardous area to stay safe. On the other hand if thestakeholders are interested to search for some certain event, such asthe presence of methane plumes (valuable for oil companies), and if onebuoy would find a considerable amount of them in an area, it mightinstruct the other networked buoys to leave their lower priority areas(e.g., where there has been no methane plume funded), and move to thehigher priority area (e.g., where methane plume has been detected).Control can be directed from an external source through communicationwith the buoy and/or it can come from a controller within the buoyitself. Control could be centralized or decentralized fashion. Thecentralized control could include when an external source such as thestakeholders or a remote super computer, via the satellite or throughthe network of the buoys, would instruct a certain buoy to perform somecertain task (e.g., to move to an exact geo location, take a picture ofany moving object in the area, and send the data back to the stakeholdervia the satellite). The decentralized control could include when somenetworked buoys would autonomously and collaboratively make decision onwhat should be done and by which networked buoy. For example, if a buoyneeds to decide where to go next (e.g., to the east or to the west), itmight query the other networked buoys on their location and decide to goto the area where it was on the plan for monitoring and that currentlyhas no networked buoy there. One embodiment includes an internalcontroller that can be reconfigured by way of a communication from anexternal source. Control can include instructions, for example, toremain within a pre-defined area by altering the wind profile of thebuoy. Spooling, tethered-underwater-vehicle carrying, controllable buoysas described in the present disclosure can provide a persistent(self-powered) and autonomous monitoring and communication network ofmobile and configurable surface-underwater buoys that could becontrolled in order to stay in an area of interest (for example, an areaof an ocean delimited by GPS co-ordinates). These buoys do not require avessel and crew present at the location for its operation. Additionally,the persistent buoys provide a detection of problems within the area ofinterest in a short matter of time, increasing the chance of handlingthe problems effectively.

The buoys may act in an individual or collective fashion. For example, asingle buoy may be deployed in an area, or a group of buoys may bedeployed together to form a sensory and/or communication network. Thenetwork may be configured to communicate between buoys and haveautonomous or semi-autonomous behavior settings for each buoy, therebyallowing the network to act in an organized, collective manner. Forexample, a first buoy in the network may be dispatched to analyze aspecific area. The data from the first buoy may be transmitted throughthe other buoys in the network in order to reach a location out of reachfrom the first buoy. The network may also be used to relay a messagefrom vehicles (such as a ship at sea) that are within range of a buoy,to other locations in range of the network. Additionally, the networkmay be configured to transmit messages in a stealthy or hard-to-detectmanner, so that communication can be affected through the network in asecure fashion. Some examples of vehicles that could connect to thenetwork of devices are submarines, ships, airplanes, land vehicles on acoast within range of the network, spaceships, space stations, andsatellites.

The buoys can float on the ocean surface or submerse underwater to adesired depth. In some embodiments, the buoys are spherical, but thebuoys can be of any shape such as ovoid, cuboid, cone, cylinder,hemispherical, wing-shaped, or boat-shaped.

The buoys of the present disclosure could be made of, for example: arigidized structure and light but sturdy materials such as fiberglass,carbon fibers; a softer fabric over a rigidized frame such as Dyneema™or ETFE over fiber glass rods; or a flexible and inflatable materialssuch ETFE, as in Refs. [9-10]. A buoy can have controllable spools(similar to those in Refs. [17-20]) and tethers connected to thetethered-underwater-vehicle. The tethers, for example, could be made ofstrong and light materials such as Dyneema™ or Kevlar™. The electricitycords such as copper or nanocarbon cords covered by ETFE (such as thosedescribed in www.great-wire.com/product17.htm, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) integrated insidethe tether in order to transfer power from the mother-buoy to its TUVs.Fiber optic wires, RF wires, or other communication lines could also beintegrated inside the connecting tethers in order to transfer opticalcommunication signals between the mother-buoy and itstethered-underwater-vehicles.

Tethered Underwater Vehicles

In some embodiments, the buoys additionally comprise one or moretethered underwater vehicles (TUVs) attached, internally or externally,to the buoy. For example, a single buoy may be attached to a single TUV,or multiple TUVs may be attached to a single buoy. In some embodiments,the TUVs are attached to a spooling system. The spooling system allowsthe deploying of and reeling in of the tethering cable, in order for theTUV to move further away from, or be carried back towards, the buoy. Thespool for the tether may be inside the buoy, inside the TUV, or externalto both, for example in a spooling device underwater that is attached toboth the buoy and to the TUV. The spooler may be, for example, arotating cylinder operated by a motor. The tether may wind around thecylinder to deploy or reel in its length.

The TUVs attached to the buoys are underwater instruments or vehicles,such as a sounder, micro-submarine, an autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV), or a robot. In some embodiments, the buoys are able to move inthe ocean, for example having an engine or other means of propulsion.The TUV can be securely attached inside a chamber of the buoy anddeployed at a desired time, or attached externally to the buoy. In someembodiments, one or more of the TUVs are able to tow the buoy via thetether in a desired direction.

In some embodiments, the spooler for the TUVs is a tangle-free activespooling mechanism, comprising sensors to measure tether tension duringactive spooling, tether tension control algorithms, and tether payoutscheduling algorithms. Active, tethered robotic systems which rappelupon and down steep terrestrial slopes are described in Refs. [17-20].

In some embodiments, torque sensors can be integrated with the spoolersto detect and adjust the tension of the tethers.

Propulsion

The buoys and TUVs may have a means of propulsion. Some examples ofmeans of propulsion include any type of nautical engine used insubmarines or ships, for example propulsions based on jetting (waterstreams), buoyancy engines, paddles, propellers, or impellers. In someembodiments, the mode of propulsion may be inspired by animals, forexample jellyfish style propulsion, where water is pushed backwards by amechanical action of sections of the buoy/TUV. The buoys and TUVs canalso include steering mechanisms, such as wings, rudders, or deformablesurfaces.

Some TUVs have multiple means of propulsion for different uses. Forexample, a TUV can have both a motorized propeller and a buoyancyengine: the propeller, being stronger, being used when the TUV is towingthe buoy and the buoyancy engine, being more energy efficient, used whenthe TUV only has to control its own glide for non-towing activities. Insome embodiments, the TUVs are specialized such that TUVs dedicated fortowing the buoy have one means of propulsion and TUVs dedicated fornon-towing tasks (such as sensing or communication) have a differentmeans of propulsion. The more energy demanding means of propulsion maymake use of a dedicated power line in the tether so that the TUV engineis powered by the buoy, whereas more efficient forms of propulsion maybe powered by batteries or other energy storing system on the TUVitself. When the TUV is retracted, the buoy may have a rechargingconnection for the TUV batteries. In some embodiments, the buoys/TUVsmay have means of recovering energy from the environment, for examplegenerating electricity from gradients of temperature, solar energy,wind, waves, or water currents.

In some embodiments, there could be mechanical control systems insidethe controllable buoy, such as the ones described in U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892 “AUTONOMOUS AND CONTROLLABLE SYSTEMS OF SENSORS AND METHODS OFUSING SUCH SYSTEMS”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. These mechanical control systems could beused inside the controllable buoy in order to make it roll on thesurface of the water. The motion, for example, could be similar to thatof a human walking inside an inflated plastic ball. This motion couldcontrol the orientation of the controllable buoy, e.g. making the buoyrotate, or its speed and direction by changing and adjusting its centerof mass.

Both the controllable buoy on the surface and its tetheredunderwater-vehicle can exploit various control mechanisms in order tostay stationary or to control their speed and trajectory. Some of thecontrol mechanisms that could be used for the controllable buoy on thesurface and its tethering underwater-vehicle are: propellers, sails,water or air jets, buoyancy engines, control systems in order to changeits coefficient of drag. For example, smart materials and structurescould be used, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 as referencedabove. The shape of the controllable buoy on the surface or itsunderwater-vehicles could be changed in order to change their buoyancyand therefore the level of its submergence). Other locomotion methodscould comprise artificial jellyfish limbs, rows, hydro-fins, and paddlesor any other internal and external mechanics and control systems couldbe used for both. For example, Doel-Fin™ Hydrofoil Stabilizer could beused, or glider technics as employed by Liquid Robotics™.

The TUVs could also have mechanisms or structures similar to thoseproposed for the “AQUA robot” as described inwww.rutgersprep.org/kendall/7thgrade/cycleA_(—)2008_(—)09/zi/robo-AQUA4.html,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The AQUA robot is equipped with sensors and cameras and canswim in the water and walk on the seabed.

In some embodiments, the buoys can control their speed and trajectory bycontrolling their submergence (by deflating and inflating) and adjustingthe percentage of their body projected to the wind compared to the partprojected to the currents. This method is based on Stokes drift andEkman transport effects. These effects typically create a differencebetween wind speed and direction and underwater current speed anddirection. For example, when the buoy is partially submerged, higherspeed winds and wave motions on the surface would contributesignificantly to its overall horizontal movement. However, by fully ornearly fully submerging the buoy, the effect of the high-speed windswill be eliminated and the typically slower currents (e.g., 1.6% to 3.6%of speed of wind) will help the buoys to slow down (this method is alsodescribed in Ref. [22]). In this disclosure, the buoys can be designedto exploit these phenomena to actively control their movement (speed anddirection) over the surface of the ocean.

In some embodiments, movement of the buoys underwater can be carried outas follows, as referenced to animal movement methods. Crawling, andflying, in animals can be realized by effective coupling of rhythmicbody movements with the surrounding environment. For jellyfish swimming,for example, the body acts as a “mechanical rectifier” when interactingwith the environment (fluid), converting the local pulsing motion of theumbrella into the global forward velocity.

Biologists have found evidence, as described in Refs. [1] and [2], thatsuch rhythmic body movements are controlled by certain neuronal elementscalled central pattern generators (CPGs). The CPG receives sensoryfeedback signals from the body and a high level (non-descriptive)command from the brain whose decision is made based on the environmentalinformation. CPGs have been extensively studied for a wide variety ofvertebrates and invertebrates, and their mathematical models have beendeveloped and validated through carefully designed experiments asdescribed in Refs. [3]-[6]. The cell membrane potentials of the neuronswithin a CPG oscillate at a certain frequency with specific phaserelations, generating a pattern for the muscle activation. For instance,the body waves traveling from head to tail in the swimming motion oflampreys or leeches are generated by CPGs formed by weakly coupledsegmental oscillators in a chain as described in Refs. [7]-[9]. Withsensory feedback, the CPG modifies its oscillation pattern to conform tothe biomechanical and environmental constraints as described in Refs.[10]-[14]. CPGs generate natural motion exploiting resonance: CPGsplaced in the sensory feedback loop integrate the motion planning andfeedback regulation into one step so that appropriate patterns areadaptively generated in response to environmental changes. Animals seemto utilize mechanical resonance to achieve efficient locomotion asdescribed in Refs. [12], [18]. For instance, walking frequency scaleswith the square root of the reciprocal of the body height as describedin Refs. [19]-[21]. The wing beat frequency of some insects and birdsscales with the inertia raised to the power close to −0.5 as describedin Ref. [22], and roughly with the inverse of the wing length asdescribed in Ref. [23]. The CPG is capable of detecting the resonanceand generating a gait that is natural for the given body biomechanicsand environmental dynamics.

Studies, such as those described in Refs. [14] and [28], have shown thatthere are two basic mechanisms for entrainment of a CPG-to-mechanicalresonance: positive rate feedback and negative integral feedback. In theformer (latter) case, the CPG entrains to the resonance frequency lower(higher) than the intrinsic frequency of the CPG. The analytical resultas described in Refs [28] also indicated that the oscillation frequencyof the coupled system is closer to the resonance frequency if theintrinsic CPG frequency is further away from resonance. Hence, if a CPGhas been optimized over generations to achieve efficient locomotionexploiting a biomechanical resonance, then its intrinsic frequencyshould be away from the resonance frequency. In fact, studies of certainanimals have revealed that the intrinsic frequency of a CPG is muchdifferent from the frequency of rhythmic body movements duringlocomotion. For instance, undulation frequencies in swimming leeches andlampreys are typically larger than the intrinsic CPG frequency by afactor of two or more as described in Refs. [29]-[31]. In this manner,controllable buoys and TUVs can be fabricated with mechanical systemthat allow motion inspired by biological systems, for example comprisinga feedback system that detects and readjust the motion of the mechanicalstructure (for example a paddle similar to a jellyfish propulsionstructure) to perform a more efficient motion.

In some embodiments, the velocity of nonlinear balance flotsam (forexample, a floating buoy), can be calculate as follows. The air, wind,drag can be calculated as:

F _(a)=½C _(da) P _(a) A _(a) |V _(a) −V _(flotsam)|(V _(a) −V_(flotsam))

while the water drag can be calculated as:

F _(W)=½C _(dw) P _(w) A _(w) |V _(a) −V _(flotsam)|(V _(a) −V_(flotsam))

where F is the drag, C_(da)=C_(dw) is the drag coefficient (a functionof Reynolds number and shape of the flotsam, 0.47 for sphere), P_(a) isthe air density, P_(w) is the sea-water density, A_(a) is the dryportion area of the flotsam influenced by the wind drag, A_(w) is thewet portion area of the flotsam influenced by the water drag, V_(a) isthe velocity vector of the wind related to the flotsam, and V_(w) is thevelocity of the current and waves (water) related to the flotsam.

Under the assumption that when the buoy has been moving in steady state,interacting with the wind and the oceanic current drags, thenF_(a)+F_(w)=0. The following equations can then be derived:

${k = {{\left( \frac{P_{a}C_{da}A_{a}}{P_{w}C_{dw}A_{w}} \right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\mspace{14mu} {and}\text{:}\mspace{14mu} V_{flotsam}} = \frac{V_{w} + {k\; V_{a}}}{1 + k}}}\mspace{14mu}$

thus obtaining the estimated velocity of flotsam, such as a buoy.

In some embodiments, a flooded fairing can be employed for the buoys,minimizing drag in the direction of travel, yet also distributingpressure so that the buoy is passively stable while in motion. Becauserapid ascent and descent could be sought in some embodiments, it can bedesirable to minimize drag along the heave (vertical) axis. Althoughshallow-water underwater vehicle systems are often volume-constrained,deeper-diving systems can also be mass-constrained. Because of thelarger and heavier structures needed to withstand greater depths, systemweight can easily become greater than the minimum displaced volume, andadditional displaced volume must be added to the system to reach neutralbuoyancy. Usually, extra volume is achieved using pressure-tolerantfoam.

Vertical motion can be accomplishing using changes is buoyancy. Becauserapid ascent and descent can be sought, a buoyancy engine can beemployed that maximizes the total possible change in net buoyancy. Forexample, movement of oil to change the displaced volume of a buoy couldbe used. In this example, to increase buoyancy oil is moved from areservoir inside of the pressure housing to an exterior bladder. Todecrease buoyancy, the process is reversed.

In some embodiments, the lower hemisphere of a buoy may comprise armsegments, for example six segments. When fully contracted (closed), thesegments form the lower half of the sphere. However, when relaxed(open), the arms can act as a means to provide traction on the oceanfloor, as well as a means of rowing propulsion for fine-tuned movement,similar to oblate rowing jellyfish such as Aurelia aurita. This rowingpropulsion mechanism achieved by jellyfish can be achieved through acyclical contraction/relaxation of the jellyfish bell. Upon relaxationof the bell (upward stroke), the jellyfish form a stopping vortex in thesubumbrellar structure. During contraction (downward stroke), a startingvortex is shed outside the bell margin of the jellyfish, coupling withthe stopping vortex, and thus producing a pulsing thrust cycle. Forexample, these structures are described in Refs. [28]-[32].

Communication

In some embodiments, the TUV can glide as far as the bottom of theocean. The range of the TUV is typically limited by the length of thetether used. In some embodiments, wired communication, for examplethrough optical fiber or a radio frequency (RF) wire, may be carried outbetween the TUV and the buoy. A satellite may in turn be in RFcommunication with the buoy; therefore, a fast and near-real-timecommunication could be established between a TUV under the water, itscorresponding buoy (or “mother-buoy”) on the surface of the water, and asatellite in orbit.

Spooling TUV-carrier buoys can enable communication and positioningcapabilities and provide near-real time controllable maritime networkingfor orbiting satellites, airborne vehicles, and vehicles on the seasurface, under the sea surface, and into the deepest points of the seafloors.

In some embodiments, the TUVs can dive underwater at a depth of 500 kmto 1500 km or more, under the thermocline layer where the acousticsignals can travel reliably without distortion from turbulence anddebris for distances as far as 90 km. For example, acousticcommunication under water is described in Refs. [13-16]. Therefore, twoor more TUVs under the thermocline layers can be able to communicatewith each other and create a reliable acoustic communication network,capable of relaying the information from any tactical node, either onthe surface (via the fiber-optic link with their mother-buoys), or anunderwater tactical data network node, such as a submarine or seabedfixed fiber-optic base-station, with no distortion. Any node from thetactical data network, when connected to the mother-buoys on thesurface, or to the TUV under the water, can connect to this relayingnetwork, and establish two-way communication between specific desiredtactical data nodes located several kilometers away. For example, withonly 120 TUVs, sited roughly 90 km apart, it is possible to cover a1,000,000 km² area.

In some embodiments, beam forming can be carried out, as explained inthe present disclosure, above. This technique is especially feasiblewith the buoys of the present disclosure since the surface mother-buoys'positions are controllable, and therefore can be stabilized during thebeam-forming process. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gains frombeam-forming can be further enhanced by using codes, together providinga long-range acoustic communication capability at many kilometers.Hence, deep and distant nodes can be alerted with simple signals evenduring multiple TUV failures. Cooperative beam-forming could similarlybe enabled on the submerged TUVs, thereby enabling more remote assets tobe reached even if their nearby TUV node is damaged.

In some embodiments, “long codes” can be used in the buoy and TUVcommunication, in order to detect signals reliably at low power. Thecodes can drive two candidate types of modulation, one intended forcoherent detection, and another intended for non-coherent detection. Thecodes can target low power detection (for example, below 100 mW), forthe ability, for example, to wake the receiver buoy from hibernation.

In some embodiments, the buoys with TUVs and the buoys without TUVs mayshare common communication capabilities, so that a network may be formedby buoys of both types. Buoy to buoy and TUV to TUV/asset communicationcan also include wireless RF and fiberless optical communications, suchas laser or LED signaling.

Energy

Also both the controllable buoy and TUV can use various skills of theart in harvesting energy for the power that their electronics needs. Forexample, thin-film solar cells laminated in the middle of the outerlayer, or thermoelectric systems that use the temperature differencesfound in the different depths of the water or temperature differencesbetween the structure of the buoy and the cooler water below, can beused to harvest energy. Various electromagnetic or electro-mechanicmethods that take advantage of the vibration and the motions caused bythe winds, waves, and currents can be used. These are similar to theones suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 referenced above.

The buoys/TUVs, in some embodiments, could use the temperaturedifferences and natural thermal gradients of the environment in order toharvest energy. For example, when a mother-buoy made of ETFE or otherpolymers are under direct sunlight for several hours, the outer laterand the gas inside the mother-buoy's large cavity can become heated. Thetemperature difference between the mother-buoy structure and the coolerdeeper waters could be used to scavenge power using thermoelectricitytechniques. One example of a thermoelectric method to generate power isdescribed in EHA-PA1AN1-R02-L1 fromwww.marlow.com/products/power-generators/energy-harvesting-kits-1/eha-pa1an1-r02-l1.htm,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The tethered-underwater-vehicle could also harvest energyexploiting temperature differences between the different layers of waterat different depths in the ocean similar to known techniques such asthose used by gliders, AUVs, and Argos (for example, as described in: J.R. Buckle, A. Knox, J. Siviter, A. Montecucco “Autonomous UnderwaterVehicle Thermoelectric Power Generation”, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

The buoys/TUVs can also harvest energy using the motions vibrationscaused by water currents or wind (for example using the techniquesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,371,136; 7,641,524; 8,043,133 and8,287,323 and as described inliquidr.com/technology/energy-harvesting.html, the disclosure of all ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

Alternatively, hydrogen-fuel can be used as described in:iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/21/4/045013 by Yonas Tadesse, AlexVillanueva, Carter Haines, David Novitski, Ray Baughman, and ShashankPriya “Hydrogen-fuel-powered bell segments of biomimetic jellyfish”, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In other embodiments, the buoys/TUVs can use various batteries or fuelfor their mobility, control, and electronics. In some embodiments, buoyscan use a combination of energy harvesting and storage.

In some embodiments, mechanical systems can be used to generate power.For example, a 10 kg eccentric pendulum mass driven by 1 meter swells inthe water can generate 50 Watts of continuous power (accounting forgenerator inefficiencies), with that power increasing in proportion tothe sea swell or pendulum mass. Hence, combined energy harvestingstrategies can continuously harvest sufficient energy to power satellitecommunications as well as onboard computation and sensors. Theadditional energy harvested by the mother-buoy can be stored in itsbattery, and transferred to the TUVs, for example via inductive chargingof their on-board batteries (when the TUVs are retrieved inside themother-buoy) or directly to the TUV through a short range copper cablewoven and protected inside the tether. This can provide for intermittentbursts of TUV towing. Small amounts of up power (for example about 1continuous Watt) can also be transmitted over the fiber optic link tothe TUV.

In some embodiments, the buoys/TUVs can harvest energy from its ownpassive motion, however other energy generation and energy scavengingtechnologies as described in Refs. [32] and [33] can be employed,comprising for example: thermoelectric generators (TEG) as described inRefs. [34] and [35]; Radioisotope Heating Unit (RHU); vibration-basedenergy harvesting systems as described in Ref. [36]; ambient RF energyharvesting as described in Ref. [37]; thin-film micro-batteries;flexible Solar Arrays embedded in the buoy fabric for summer time energygeneration; and installing the buoy's electronics as a pendulum attachedto a DC-motor mounted on the buoy rotation axis and back-driving it togenerate electricity.

Based on environmental data and simulations, for example based on windmaps, it may be possible to estimate a range of available and probablepower (energy) and use these estimates to control the location andenergy harvesting of the buoys.

In some embodiments, a wave/vibration energy harvester can be housedinside the upper hemisphere of a buoy, which can be used in conjunctionwith flexible solar cells placed on the outer surface of the buoy tocollect and store energy when the buoy is surfaced. Magnetic levitationbased vibrational energy harvesting can be used due to its ability tooperate at very low frequencies, as those seen by ocean currents. Also,the nonlinear magnetic stiffness of the energy harvesting device allowsfor a broadband operation of the harvester. The device can be highlyscalable which makes it a logical choice for buoy. When surfaced, buoycan be over buoyant, allowing it to stay afloat using zero energy. Thiscan maximize energy harvesting capabilities, as a buoy can stay afloatfor an unlimited time.

At very low speeds, the electrical power needed for propulsion in wateris small. This is due to the cubic relationship between speed and thepropulsive power needed to overcome drag. For example, if speed is cutin half, then the propulsive power drops to ⅛th of what it wasoriginally. Thus systems that move slowly through the ocean can traversegreat distances with little propulsive energy. Of course, there areother efficiencies that do not easily scale with speed. For example, apropulsion system that is designed for optimum efficiency at 4 knotscould be inefficient when operated by 0.5 knots. Thus, it is sometimesnot advisable to simply run a system at a lower speed to increase energyefficiency. Rather, the propulsion system much be designed explicitlyfor the desired speed. The endurance that can be achieved by slow-speedmotion depends on the specific vehicle system. Buoys, which can operateat very low power and harvest energy from the environment, can becapable of extraordinary long-endurance missions.

Positioning/Localization Awareness

The mother-buoys can also employ GPS since they can be located at thesurface and in communication with the satellites. The TUVs can betethered to the GPS intelligent surface-buoys, and could be equippedwith an Inertial Navigation System (INS), for example MEMS InertialMeasurement Unit (3axisgyro/accelerometer/magnetic). The TUVs would thenbe able to be located when under water (exploiting known techniques andalgorithms, for example when the TUVs are surveying oceanographiceffects in a larger area and they are tasked to map the measurementswith the exact location of where the measurements were made.

A TUV can perform localization by sending an acoustic signal back and upto the surface. Since the TUV can be communicatively connected through awire or fiber to the tethered mother-buoy, the clocks of the TUV andbuoy can be synchronized. Additionally, the mother-buoys on the surfacecan have access to the global clock (satellite), and therefore theirclock could be synchronized with the satellite and among the buoys.After the TUV sends an acoustic signal to the surface, the neighboringmother-buoys can send an acknowledgment signal along with the time thesignal was received back to the tethered mother-buoy via an RF signal.The tethered mother-buoy can calculate the exact location of thetethered-underwater-vehicle by finding the distance of each one of thereceiver mother-buoys and the tethered-underwater-vehicle. Thistechnique can be termed an “upward” triangulation method forlocalization and can give an accurate location of thetethered-underwater-vehicle. However, sending a large acoustic signalfrom a tethered-underwater-vehicle (under the water) can require a lotof energy that might not be possible if the tethered-underwater-vehicleis deep under water and far away from sunlight or other external sourcesof energy.

Another localization technique is explained as follows. Whenever thesystem (the tethered-underwater-vehicle itself, the mother-buoy, or anyof the base-stations or buoys under the control of the distributedcontrol system) wants to know the exact location of thetethered-underwater-vehicle under water, a communication signal can beexchanged between the mother-buoy and its tethered-underwater-vehicle orvehicles in order to make the necessary arrangements. Subsequently, thetethered mother-buoy can contact two or more of the neighboringmother-buoys in the area in order to synchronize their clocks. Since thebuoys have access to the global clock from a satellite, they are able toreport their differences with the global clock and therefore synchronizetheir clocks together. In a next step, each one of the mother-buoys cansend an omnidirectional acoustic signal down into the water, comprisingthe time of its transmission to the mother-buoy that is tethered to theTUV whose location is being determined, for example via a RFcommunication signal. The tethered-underwater-vehicle can then send anacknowledgment signal to the tethered mother-buoy directly through theconnecting wire. The TUV can send an acknowledgment signal for anyreceived acoustic signal (that was sent by the neighboring mother-buoys)along with the time the signal was received by the TUV.

Subsequently, the positioning TUV's mother-buoy can send a communicationsignal (e.g., acoustic, optic, or RF) under water and the TUV can againsend an acknowledgment signal along with the time that it received thecommunication signal, back to the tethered surface-buoy. Since the TUVand its mother-buoy are connected through a tethered wire, their clockscould be synchronized as well. The time of fly between the communicationsignals sent by the 3 or more mother-buoys and their geo-location whenthey had sent the communication signal can be used to locate thedistance of the TUV from each one of buoys. In this way, the exactlocation of the TUV and therefore, the objects or areas witnessed andvisited by TUV, can be found. This technique can be termed a “downward”triangulation method for localization.

The position of the TUV can then be determined based on the differenttime stamps of the signals sent and received by the buoys and the TUV.This embodiment has the advantage that the tethered-underwater-vehicledoes not need to send an acoustic signal that requires a lot of energy.The TUV, therefore, can save power, which can be important for thetethered-underwater-vehicle since the TUV is deep under water and awayfrom the major sources of energy harvesting, such as sunlight. When theacoustic signal is received by three different buoys on the surface andhaving access to the satellites and the global clock, the buoys can beable to perform synchronization and triangulation and determine theexact location of TUVs, other underwater and floating assets (e.g. otherbuoys, instruments, wellheads, structures, instruments, submarines,etc.), and incidents (e.g. pipe leakages, spillages, hydrographic oroceanographic information, etc.).

Sensors and Equipment

In some embodiments, the controllable buoys can be used to explorevarious lakes, ocean, rivers for scientific surveys and mapping theenvironmental factors (pressure, temperature, salinity, etc.). The buoyscould also be used to find marine mines or other hazardous objects inthe ocean. The buoys and/or their TUVs can be equipped with sonar(active or passive) sensors, various imagers, etc. in order to detectthe submarines, or adversary activities. The buoys could also be used tofacilitate the communication of industrial assets (such as buoys,wellheads, instruments of gas or oil companies, marine transportation,etc.) to the surface and the base stations such as satellites or shipsdeployed to the area. The buoys can be used to detect and localize anyoil and gas, or any other pollutant leakage or spills in mid-water or onthe surface. The buoys can also be used in order to clean up oil spillsusing special bacteria, or chemicals which are able to disperse ordissolve the oil spills. The buoys can also be equipped with varioustechniques such as sorbent foams or pumps which can absorb the oil(crude or processed) or any other pollutants. The buoys can also be usedin order to detect and alert of tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. and let theendangered neighboring areas prepare for a crisis. The buoys can be usedin the Arctic area. When the buoys are equipped by sonar or ultrasoundsensors, the buoys can be used to measure the thickness of the ice. Thebuoys can also be used to measure the effect of any drilling for oilexploration either on the bed of the sea or lakes, or on the ice in thePolar Regions. The buoys can also map the topography of the ice in theArctic, which could help marine transportation in the Arctic area.

The buoys can also have processing capabilities (for example usingMicroprocessor PCI-based 750 MHz PowerPC system or Conga BM57) in orderto perform different tasks, for example computations and storage relatedto the data acquired by the sensors.

The buoys can, for example, use all the state of art electronics,software, methods, and materials such as the sensors, imagers, energyharvesting components and techniques, communication components andtechniques (RF, optic, acoustic, wired or wireless, antenna), batteriesand capacitors, data loggers and memories, controller and processors,data processors, avionics such a magnetometers, accelerometers, GPS,communication transceivers and techniques, navigation instruments andtechniques, underwater vehicles and tools, movement controllers such aspropellers, buoyancy engine, spooling systems and techniques, which arementioned in this disclosure, in Table 1, or in the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892, can be integrated inside various example embodiments of thecontrollable networked buoy system and its individual buoys (includingthe mother-buoy and its TUV).

Customization for Oil Industry or Environmental Controls

The systems of the present disclosure can apply to applications such oiland gas explorations, drilling, as well as transferring oil and gas fromthe drilling sites to the destination using pipelines or various vesselsin the open seas, as well as in the Polar Regions such as the Arctic.Therefore, it can be useful to have an autonomous system which is ableto monitor these activities in order to check the health of theinfrastructures and report any leakage or broken parts or instruments,to facilitate communication, to give feedback from the instruments(e.g., drilling) and the effect of the activity in the area around. Forexample, if directional drilling is carried out in an area, it can beuseful to adjust the drilling parameters (e.g., speed, pressure,direction) and take into consideration the effects of drilling over thelarger area around the drilling site, including in very harshenvironments.

In some embodiments, the buoys and/or their TUVs can be equipped withsensors that detect the oil spills and plumes on the surface of or underthe water. Some of the sensors and techniques have been described atcioert.org/flosee/detecting-oilgas-plumes/, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, thefollowing devices may be used: 1) Fluorometers (for example Seapoint™Turbidity Meters are low-power, miniature sensors for turbidity andsuspended solids detection and measurement; 2) Acoustic Doppler CurrentProfiler, as used for example by NOAA to assess leak rate at the wellsite (for example with the SonTek™/YSI 16-MHz MicroADV™ (AcousticDoppler Velocimeter); 3) Laser In Situ Scattering and Transmissometry(LISST) measures volume concentrations and size spectra of particlesusing laser diffraction, measuring the intensity of scattered laserlight at different angles (LISST-100X); 4) PAH analysis: One type ofhydrocarbon found in oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are knowncarcinogens and detected using gas chromatography on lab samples(Nanostructured Porous Silicon and Luminescent Polysiloles as ChemicalSensors for Carcinogenic Chromium(VI) and Arsenic(V) as described atcfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/2368/report/,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety; 5) A variety of underwater sensors that use spectrometry (e.g.mass spectrometry) to detect a variety of elements in seawater,including hydrocarbon gases and fluids. 6) Turbidity sensors integratedin the buoy can detect the oil spills since the water polluted with oilare usually darker than the areas with no pollution. Several examplesensors to detect oil spills by measuring the turbidity or their methodsare mentioned in Table 1 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892.

In some embodiments the buoys or TUVs could be made of various knownmaterials such as oleophilic and water repellent materials, for examplecomprising sorbent sheets, such as 3M™ Oil & Petroleum Sorbents ormicroorganism-immobilized polyurethane foams to absorb and degrade oilon water surface as described in www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11030581,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, composite magnetic materials made of polyurethane foam,polytetrafluoroethylene spheres, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.Additionally, vacuum devices or pumps could be integrated in thestructure of the mother-buoys and their tethered-underwater-vehicles inorder to clean up the oil plumes on the surface or under the layers ofthe water. Furthermore, the mother-buoys and their TUVs can carryvarious chemical dispersants and hydrocarbon-eating bacteria and spreadthem over the area of the oil spill. The buoys and TUVs can also bedesigned to act as skimmers. One advantage of using the buoys and TUVsfor cleaning up the spillage is that they can act as a controllabledistributed system and can scan the area of interest and look for evensmaller pockets of the spill. Subsequently, the buoys can report thepolluted areas and even perform clean-up in a cost-effective andautonomous way.

One benefit of a mobile and controllable buoy system is for monitoringdrilling in the seabed. It is important that the pressure of theinjected gas inside the wellhead and the connected canals are controlledin order not to cause major fraction or leakage in the seabed plate(ground) and possibly cause an environmental disaster. Moreover, controlof the injected gas that might leak in the wider area around thedrilling site can also be important. The controllable spoolingtethered-underwater-vehicle-carrier buoy system could monitor the areafor any leakage or excess pressure on the seabed surface in order togive feedback to the drilling's controllers, to slow down or adjust theinjected gas's flow into the wellhead and canals.

A spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle-carrier buoy system is able topatrol on the surface and under the water at the same time for any spilland leakage of pollutant (including the CO₂ extracts to the ocean due tothe oil company's seabed activities), check on the health of the variousunderwater assets and report any leakage or breakage, in order to reactin a timely manner to minimize the effect of any such disaster in atimely matter.

In the following, exemplary tasks that various embodiments of thecontrollable networked buoy system, can carry out to benefit the oil andgas industry are listed (non-exhaustively).

-   -   1. Environmental Monitoring: Oceanography, hydrography,        situation awareness (reporting tsunamis), albedo, pollutants and        anomalies (e.g. Co2), and weather situation.    -   2. Water and Waste Management: considering the injection of        produced water, analyzing the pollutants; facilitate predicting        environmental concentrations (PEC) of the pollutants in volume        term as a function of various natural phenomena, such as        currents, tides, waves, evaporation and biodegradation.    -   3. Detecting oil slicks on the surface, especially for those        slicks that are thin, scattered, or several hours or days have        passed from the incident. The oil slicks can become        disintegrated into small droplets and mixed with the water and        impossible to be observed by remote sensing (airplanes,        satellites, etc.).    -   4. Oceanography, hydrography, situation awareness, weather and        the environmental monitoring and survey which could help the oil        company crews and personnel, or the structure to be prepared and        stay safe (e.g. they might decide to leave an area which could        be object to a tsunami or a strong hurricane).    -   5. Identifying areas with high exploration potential by        predicting the distribution of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs        and detecting the optimal hydrocarbon entrapment zone by        surveying temperature. The hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs have        noticeably higher temperature compared to the areas with no oil        or gas. The temperature in hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs can        be, for example, between 60 and 120° C. Therefore, by        integrating a simple temperature sensor inside the buoy and its        TUV and surveying temperature of various areas in the seabed,        the areas with high potential hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs can        be detected.    -   6. Identifying areas with high exploration potential by        predicting the distribution of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs        and detecting the optimal hydrocarbon entrapment zone by        surveying the maturity of the rocks (which geological period        they are belonged to), tectonic changes, and net erosion. The        buoy and its TUV with simple imagers (e.g. optic, radar, sonar,        infrared), and sensors the buoy will be able to survey the basin        and rocks in the seabed and provide those information mentioned        above to the oil and gas experts and computers for further        analysis. The monitoring, positioning, navigation, and relaying        communication capabilities of the controllable networked buoy        system can also be used for the search and rescue monitoring        system.    -   7. The controllable networked buoy system is able to provide a        cost and energy effective relaying communication infrastructure        and navigation systems for the oil and gas marine transportation        (e.g. vessels), on the surface or under the water oil ridges and        seabed structures, other buoys and instruments and personnel.    -   8. The controllable networked buoys could use sensors to measure        the gravity (similar to what is done by GRACE spacecraft or        several oil companies) to measure and survey the amount that the        seafloor of the oil and gas fields gets compacted and declines.        The information could be used as a feedback to adjust the        drilling activities and locations in the field.

Various example embodiments of the controllable networked buoys systemsof the present disclosure can be equipped with camera, sonars, activeand passive sensors to monitor the health of the assets under the water(e.g. pipelines) and report any leakage or defect. In some embodiments,the tethered-vehicles can be used as transponders which exploit theirfast wired communication with the buoys to acknowledge and facilitatepositioning under the water.

In some embodiments, the mother-buoys and the TUVs can be used to mapthe topography of the water (e.g. the currents and the waves, depth ofthe water, etc.), as well as measure different parameters such ashydrographical, oceanographical (physical such as temperature, pressure,flux, albedo, etc.) and chemical (salinity, OCO, etc.), or near thesurface information such as the pressure, temperature, radiation fluxes(UV), albedo, cloud coverage, etc.

Some example instruments, sensors, modems, avionics, imagers, detectorsthat could be integrated inside the buoy (100) are provided in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Science and task parameter Electronics and Sensors (theirreferences) Sensitivity and specification Wind on the Hair-based sensorsfor micro-autonomous 2 cm/s and dynamic range of Surface systems morethan 15 m/s(wims2.org/publications/papers/sadeghinajafiprocspieapril2012.pf) 3.5 mW1.5 g Temperature Ultra-Small, Low Power Digital Temperature −40° C. to+125° C. Sensors TSYS02 High Accuracy up to ±0.1° C.(www.meas-spec.com/temperature- 2.5 mm × 2.5 mmsensors/digital-temperature-sensors/digital- 0.045 mWtemperature-sensors.aspx) Pressure MEMS pressure sensor: LPS331AP 260 to1260 mbar absolute(www.st.com/web/catalog/sense_power/FM89/SC1316/PF25160) pressure rangeHigh-resolution mode: 0.020 mbar RMS 0.02-0.09 mW −3 × 3 × 1 mmPyranometer CS300-L Pyranometer Light Spectrum Waveband: (Albedometer)(www.campbellsci.com/cs300-pyranometer) 300 to 1100 nm MeasurementRange: 0 to 2000 W m⁻² (full sunlight ≈1000 W m⁻²) Sensitivity: 0.005 kWm⁻² mV⁻¹ Weight: 65 g Snow and water SR50A acoustic sensor MeasurementRange: 0.5 to depth (www.campbellsci.com/sr50a-overview) 10 mResolution: 0.25 mm Power 2.25-4.5 W Weight: 1 kg (needs to getcustomized) Humidity Libelium Humidity Sensor - 808H5V5 MeasurementRange: 0~100% RH Operating temperature: −40~+85° C. 2.5 mW few gramsMagnetic Forces MEMS Magnetometer: STMicroelectronics Measurement Range:±4/±8/ Launches Single-Chip Magnetometer ±12/±16 gauss(www.st.com/web/en/press/p3339) −40° C. to +85° C. power: 150 mW-250 mWWeight: 3 grams Optic Images CMOS ultra-compact cameras OV9665 4.5 × 5mm (www.ovt.com/products/sensor.php?id=5) 80 mW Resolution: 1 MPSpectrometry USB2000 Miniature Fiber Optic 89.1 mm × 63.3 mm × 34.4 mmSpectrometer 1.25 W (www.oceanoptics.com/Products/usb2000.asp) MassSpectrometry Miniature Mass Spectrometer Power: 30 mW (Granularity)Mass: 0.3 g Size: 0.27 cm³ Inertial MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit (IMUWeighs: 3 grams Measurement Unit consisting of 3-axis gyro,accelerometer, and Power: 150 mW-250 mW magnetometer) IMU-3000 TripleAxis 4 × 4 × 0.9 mm Motion Processor ™ Gyroscope Molecular OxygenLibelium's Molecular Oxygen (O2) Sensor - Measurement range: 0~30% (O2)SK-25 0.088 mW Operating temperature: 5~+40. C. <10 g Nitrogen DioxideLibelium's Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Sensor - Measurement range: 0.05~5 ppm(NO2) MiCS-2710 Sensitivity: 6~100 Operating temperature: −30~+85. C. 5mW <10 g Ammonia (NH3) Libelium's Ammonia (NH3) sensor - Gases: NH3, H2STGS2444 Measurement range: 10~100 ppm Sensitivity: 0.063~0.63 Operatingtemperature: −10~+50. C. 6 mW <10 g Methane (CH4) Libelium's Methane(CH4) sensor - Gases: CH4, H2 TGS2611 Measurement range: 500~10000 ppmSensitivity: 0.6 ± 0.06 Operating temperature: −10~+40. C. 35 mWLiquefied Libelium's Liquefied Petroleum Gas Sensor - Gases: CH3CH2OH,CH4, Petroleum Gas TGS2610 C4H10, H2 few grams Measurement range:500~10000 ppm Sensitivity: 0.56 ± 0.06 Operating temperature: −10~+40.C. 35 mW Carbon Monoxide Libelium's Carbon Monoxide (CO) Sensor -Measurement range: 30~1000 ppm (CO) TGS2442 Sensitivity: 0.13~0.31 fewgrams Operating temperature: −10~+50. C. 1.5 mW Solvent VaporsLibelium's Solvent Vapors Sensor - CH3CH2OH, H2, C4H10, TGS2620 CO, CH4few grams Measurement range: 50~5000 ppm Sensitivity: 0.3~0.5 Operatingtemperature: −10~+40. C. 250 mW Ozone (O3) Libelium's Ozone (O3)Sensor - MiCS-2610 Measurement range: 10~1000 few grams ppb Sensitivity:2~4 Operating temperature: −30~+85. C. 68 mW Ice detector Ice*MeisterModel 9732-OEM ice detecting 0.33 mW transducer probe −50° C. to +50° C.(www.controldevices.net/Defence/New%20Avionics/PDF/9732%20DATA%20SHEET.pdf) Iridium Interface 205102 Iridium 9523Interface Iridium interface board with Boardacomms.whoi.edu/micro-modem/iridium-interface board/ 9523 Iridiummodule, u-blox MAX-7Q-0 GPS module, Atemel SAM3S4CA-AU microprocessorand Actel AGLN250V2-VQG100 FPGA on a Micromodem sized form factor suchthat it can be mounted on the Micromodem stack in certain applications.On board microprocessor allows for custom applications to interfacebetween the Micromodem or other sensors Transducers, Arrays WH-BT-1Single Ring 28 kHz and Towfish And others atacomms.whoi.edu/micro-modem/transducers-arrays-and-towfish/ ModemMainboard Micromodem 1.3c DSP And others at:acomms.whoi.edu/micro-modem/modem-mainboard/ Precision Time and 205103Precision Time and Position Board Microsemi SA.45s CSAC Position Boardand others at module, u-blox NEO-6T-0acomms.whoi.edu/micro-modem/precision-time-and-position-board/ GPSmodule, Atemel SAM3X8EA-AU microprocessor and Actel AGLN250V2-VQG100FPGA on a Micromodem sized form factor such that it can be mounted onthe Micromodem stack in certain applications. On board microprocessorallows for custom applications to interface between the Micromodem orother sensors. Several sensors and All the sensors (to detect oil andgas leaks, electronics radiations, environmental sensors, etc.),mentioned in the modems, batteries, processors, controllers, U.S. Pat.No. avionics, antenna, memories and data loggers, 8,912,892 energyharvesting devices, devices and materials to clean up the oil spills,materials, etc. suggested in the US Patent U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 [23]could also be used for this disclosure and to be integrated inside thecontrollable buoy (100) as well acoustic modem WHOI's Micro-Modem [34]Texas Instruments ™ TMS320C5416 DSP Several micro Several JPL MicroDevices Laboratory's sensors and sensors and electronics for Earth andelectronics for Planetary deployments could be found at: planetary andEarth microdevices.jpl.nasa.gov/capabilities applications Lighterautonomous REMUS 100 REMUS—Remote underwater vehicleswww.km.kongsberg.com/ks/web/nokbg0240.nsf/AllWeb/ EnvironmentalMeasuring D241A2C835DF40B0C12574AB003EA6AB?OpenDocument UnitS 100 is acompact, light- Or weight, Autonomous Slocum Glider: UnderwaterVehicle - AUV http://www.webbresearch.com/slocumglider.aspx designed foroperation in coastal environments up to 100 meters in depth SlocumGlider: www.webbresearch.com/pdf/ Slocum_Glider_Data_Sheet.pdf Severalsensors, Several sensors, imagers (infrared, optical, electronics, solaretc.), ice and water detectors, solar cells, cells, avionics, avionics,controllers, batteries, data loggers, controllers, peer to peer wirelessRF modems, memories, batteries, data and other electronics from Waspmoteproduct loggers, etc. from of Libelium.com can be integrated and usedLibelium.com and in the controllable buoy (100) (both the its Waspmotemother-buoy and its TUV) products www.libelium.com/products/waspmote/Wind turbine to WindWalker M SUPER LOW wind turbine WindWalker M SUPERgenerate power 48 DC 100 watts in breeze 750 watt max LOW wind turbine48 DC LOW or 100 watts in breeze 750 watt WINDWALKER 250 max LOWwww.freespiritenergy.com/products.html Underwater Opticalwww.qinetiq-na.com/products/pscs/ www.qinetiq-na.com/wp-content/uploads/Communications underwater-optical-communications/ data-sheet_underwater-optical-communications.pdf Robotic parts and JPL's Microspine Grippers:Foot JPL's Microspine Grippers tools: For example Mechanisms forAnchoring and Mobility in could be integrated to the JPL's MicrospineMicrogravity and Extreme Terrain structure of some example Grippersrobotics.jpl.nasa.gov/tasks/ embodiment buoys in thistaskVideo.cfm?TaskID=206&tdaID=700015&Video=147 disclosure, or the buoysintroduced in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 to keep the buoy grasp in alocation on the hard terrains or on the seafloor.

Ice—Water Buoys:

The controllable buoy's structure can be customized such that it couldbe used both on the hard surface (for example, ice in the polar regions)and on the surface of the water. This is especially useful when thesystem is used in the Arctic or Polar Regions when there are areascovered by water as well as ice near each other. Therefore, the buoy canmove around on hard surfaces (e.g., ice) by wind or on the surface ofthe water. For example, the buoy can move in ice using internal controlmechanical system, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892referenced above.

Buoy Network

The buoys can be deployed over a vast area in the ocean. In someembodiments, the buoys can autonomously distribute themselves uniformlysuch that a majority of them is located at the bottom of the deep seafor a long time, while a few of them are deployed at the surface,employing camouflage techniques in order to remain concealed. The buoyscan be designed to be ecology friendly, long-lived, and controllable andcan exploit natural resources in the sea environment for theirlocomotion, part of their communication, and energy harvesting. Thebuoys on the surface can exploit strong winds and currents, and sun fortheir locomotion and energy harvesting. They can have a peer-to-peer RFand acoustic communication with the other buoys on the surface and indeep sea underwater. The buoys could also have communication with theorbiter and the ships, airplanes, and submarines missioned in the area.The buoys can control their wind-driven locomotion by letting waterinside the large cavity in them and submerge into the water, which is atleast 30 times slower, and with a velocity angle caused by the EkmanSpiral (as discussed above and in Ref. [1]), in order to slow down andnot to exit an area of interest. The buoys can opportunistically waitfor the desired wind direction in order to resume their wind-drivenmotion by emptying their internal water and controlling their buoyancy.The buoys can also use different mechanical and actuators in order toinitiate locomotion and control their location.

The buoys can also have acoustic communication capabilities, which wouldallow them to exchange messages to other buoys and entities in the waterwhen necessary. They can use very low frequency signals (VLF) (forexample, acoustic signals), in order to trigger a sleeping node verydeep in the ocean. The buoys can be large, therefore they can providelarge directed antennas which could be used in order to send signals,even signals as brief as triggering a triggering signal to assets downin the deep sea. This is possible because the location of the specificsleeping nodes that need to be contacted can be almost precisely known,and, due to the controllable distributed nature of the buoys on thesurface, these buoys can collaboratively use phase-array techniques tosend a powerful signal directly to the sleeping nodes that need to bewoken up. This strategy not only makes sending the VLF communicationsignal to the deep ocean possible but since the signal energy isconfined to a particular direction, makes the triggering signal moreconcealed and less susceptible to interception. The buoys could thusfacilitate communication and energy harvesting for any fixed sleepingnodes containing payloads that might have been placed for years in thebottom of the deep ocean. The buoys are able to “learn” different layersand distances under the water, which will be used to help and guide anyriser buoy that needs to be at a specific location on the surface, orunder the sea reliably and quickly. The buoy can be a payload itself.

Furthermore, the buoys can be concealed using various camouflagetechniques and can keep the acoustic communications to a minimum, sinceacoustic communications are more prone to be detected by intruders.Moreover, the buoys can be equipped with different sensors and detectorssuch as vibration, radar, passive sonars, as described in Ref. [1], inorder to be aware of the surrounding situation. If a hazardous orsuspicious event happens, the buoys can react (using their controlsystem's strategy to get away from the hazardous event) in order to besafe or, as a last resort, self-destruct.

Buoys on the surface can use distributed phase-array techniques to focusthe energy of their command and triggering signals in the direction ofthe target buoys on the bottom of the sea. Sleeping buoys canperiodically rise to the surface to use GPS signals to determine theirlocation. When the buoys submerge themselves back into the sea they cando so in such a manner as to make their descent as vertical as possible.This ensures that their location at the bottom of the sea will be asclose as possible to the GPS-measured location on the surface. Such nearvertical descent can be possible using accelerometers and the fact thatthere is very little water current once the buoy is sufficiently deep.When the buoys determine their location on the surface, immediatelyprior to their submersion and vertical descent, they can transmit theirlocation to neighboring buoys, as a result of which the system can havea fairly reliable estimate of the buoy's final resting location at thesea floor. The buoys can also periodically resurface to replenish theirenergy storing batteries, in some embodiments where solar energy isemployed. In fact, the buoys can use energy harvesting techniques suchas those described for the buoys with TUVs in the present disclosure.For example, the buoys may have a transparent upper dome with a solararray underneath the dome. Similarly, techniques and structuresdescribed with reference to the buoys may also be applied in someembodiments of the buoys.

In some embodiments, buoys can have a flexible communication systemcapable of supporting several distinct communication requirements,comprising for example: (i) between buoys that are on ocean's surface,(ii) asynchronous wake-up signal sent to sleeping buoys on ocean bed inorder to activate them under latency constraints, (iii) between buoys onthe surface and external entities such as a ship, and (iv) betweenproximate submerged buoys on the ocean bed. To meet these requirements,in some embodiments it is possible to combine radio-frequency (RF)wireless for above surface and acoustic wireless underwater. Given thedepth requirements of a few thousand meters and energy and sizeconstraints, acoustic can be used for underwater communication needs.

Buoys on the surface can self-organize into a multi-hop network,communicating with each other via RF in the UHF band. Therefore, amessage from a buoy can hop through intermediate buoys to reach a targetlocation. In some embodiments, with precise knowledge of time andlocation through GPS, and the use of steerable antennas thesurface-to-surface communication can be long range and energy efficient.For example, off-the-shelf 20 dBm Zigbee radios with directionalantennas are able to achieve 100 Kbps at 10s of km. Waking up of thebuoys on the ocean floor can be done acoustically. To perform this, insome embodiments the surface buoys can cooperate via RF networking toperform distributed acoustic beamforming. Normally, beamforming iscarried out using fixed arrays. However, distributed beamforming is alsopossible and applicable to the buoys of the present disclosure. Withdistributed acoustic beamforming, the surface buoys can cooperativelydirect acoustic wake-up signals towards the specific locations on theocean bed where sleeping buoys are located. The signal-to-noise (SNR)gains from beamforming can be further enhanced by using codes, togetherproviding a long-range wake-up capability at many kilometers. Thesubmerged buoys can be duty-cycled with a very low ratio so as tominimize power consumption, and use a preamble-sampling approach(similar to that used in low-power RF sensor networks) to wake-up whenthe acoustic wake-up signal is sent to them.

In some embodiments, the buoy's autonomy in terms of communication timewith its peers can be important since that exchange of informationconstitutes the basic link unifying the mobile mesh network. In someembodiments, the expected energy scavenging level per day is about30,000-40,000 Joules, and the maximum power consumption of thetransceiver in each buoy can be designed to be less than 100 mW, whichis equivalent to more than 100 hours of consecutive peer-to-peercommunication. In order to increase the communication distance with areasonable data rate, quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) can be usedas a modulation technique for both uplink and downlink communication.QPSK provides a spectrum efficiency of about 1.6 bits/Hz and requires aSNR of at least 14 dB for a bit-error-rate (BER) of at most 10-6. Inorder to maximize the propagation distance given an antenna size of less10 cm (which can be smaller than the diameter of a buoy), the 433 to 434MHz frequency band available for ISM applications can be the mostsuitable ones. Based on this selection, the link budget can becalculated. In some embodiments, the maximum communication distance isestimated to be 100 km with a maximum date rate of 320 kb/s. Anexemplary expected number of buoys can be of the order of 1000 for aglobal coverage exceeding 10M km². However, this exemplary number may beincreased to increase the overall robustness of the system whenconsidering possible buoy failures in the field due to rare but extremeenvironmental conditions such as extreme winds or solar storms.

In some embodiments, the majority of the buoys could be distributed atthe bottom of the sea sleeping, where carrying out minimum activitiessuch as reporting their status (e.g. available power, health of theirelectronics) using acoustic communication when they are asked to. Asmaller number of buoys could be on or near the surface of the sea. Thesleeping buoys can periodically ascend to the surface using eitherself-powered hydrogen fueled artificial muscle or other low-poweredactuators. The ascending buoy can decide to rise-up based on the timethat has elapsed since its most recent sleep or its most recentreception of any outside signal, the level of its batteries, thetopology and the concentration of the other sleeping buoys in itsproximity, and the priority ranking of the region where it sleeps. Theascending buoy can exchange acoustic signals with the buoys in the rangeof its proximity while ascending, in order to gather informationregarding their location, the topology and the health status (e.g. ifthe signal transceivers work fine, available power, etc.). When theascending buoy reaches the surface, it can empty the water inside itsinner cavity in order to increase its buoyancy, and better to be able toexploit wind- and current-driven motion. The buoy could also join thecontrollable and dynamic wireless mesh network of the buoys on thesurface. The buoy could also transfer any information gathered from thedeep down sleeping nodes to the network. The information can be fused tothose of the rest of the buoys on the surface providing a collectivetopology and status of the entire buoy network (on the surface and deepat the bottom of the sea), which can be used by the distributed controlarchitecture of the buoy network. The distributed control architecturecan intelligently distribute tasks and positions among the buoys in thenetwork in order to optimize the coverage of the area, the resources(e.g., memory, power, bandwidth), and the performance of the entiresystem (e.g., how soon a random sleeping buoy could awaken). Theascended buoy can stay on the surface for a time in order to rechargeits batteries (using its solar cells and other techniques), updating andupgrading its software (e.g. its decoy codes might be outdated while itwas sleeping underwater) and become part of the surveillance andmonitoring system on the surface. The distributed control architectureof the buoys network can use the topology map, the health status, andthe resources of the buoys on the surface and those at the bottom of thesea to decide where it should leave a specific buoy on the surfacesubmerge in the water at the specific location, in order to organize auniform distribution of the buoys and their available resources, on thesurface and at the bottom of the sea. When an invoking event happens,for example a requirement that a certain number of buoys are deployed ina specific location, the command can be sent to any of the buoys on thesurface. The Distributed Control Architecture (DCA) for the buoysnetwork can notify those leading buoys on the surface, which will beable to send the acoustic signals used to awaken the sleeping buoynodes. If the sleeping buoys are acoustically reachable, they can beawakened right away and can acknowledge the leading buoys either bysending an acoustic signal or by their actual upward motion, which couldbe detected by the leading buoys and would confirm that the sleepingbuoys have been awakened. The awakened buoys can use their strongactuators and their emergency power in order to rise all the way up tothe surface or perhaps a location inside the sea where they aremissioned.

A global controller, which can be a pre-defined buoy, a buoy selected bythe network according to a set of rules, or a non-buoy vehicle orsatellite, can be in charge of controlling the optimum distribution ofgroups of buoys for all sub regions. This optimization can take inaccount, for example, the following variables that are evaluated foreach sub region: (i) the number of buoys, (ii) the total amount ofmemory available, (iii) each buoys' energy reserve, (iv) the bandwidthavailable, (v) the energy that can be harvested based on the sub regionlocal conditions, e.g. wind intensity, and (vi) the sub region'spriority.

The number of buoys entering, leaving, or staying in a sub-region can begoverned by the resulting distribution of the global controller'soptimization process which is performed at regular time intervals. Theinstructions can be sent to each buoy via the satellite communicationand/or through existing ground stations using the buoy peer-to-peercommunication link if available.

In addition to receiving centralized commands, the buoys within each subregion can negotiate with each other to share tasks and optimize the useof local system resources. The buoys in each grid can further negotiatewith each other to decide if they should allow an outside buoy to jointhem in the sub region grid or just pass by. They may also let aninsider buoy leaves the grid for a neighboring grid. Finally, it is theresponsibility of the buoy's own controller to either keep its positionstable within a sub region or move to a new designated one. In bothcases the buoy can determine by itself which winds to follow and when tostop and wait for other buoys that will agree with its instructions.

For example, a distributed coordination approach based on a“probabilistic swarm guidance” methodology can be carried out, asdescribed in Ref. [42]. In some embodiments, the domain of coverage issplit into sub-regions, or cells. The global controller can periodicallydetermine the optimal desired buoy distribution over the cells based onavailable data. Then the desired distribution can be communicated toeach buoy. Each buoy can now act semi-independently (it can negotiatewith its neighbors to avoid local conflicts) in such a way that thedesired distribution will be achieved. In its simplest form, theprobabilistic guidance approach as described in Refs. [42]-[44] can bedecentralized and not require communication or collaboration betweenbuoys. In addition to being decentralized, the probabilistic guidanceapproach can have an autonomous self-repair property: once the desiredswarm density distribution is attained, the buoys automatically repairdamage to the distribution with minimal or no collaboration and withoutexplicit knowledge that damage has occurred. The global controllerintervenes as it produces an update on the desired target distribution.Buoy control using local wind fields fits this process well since itprovides the statistical variation needed in motion for this algorithmto function properly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure and, together with the description of exampleembodiments, serve to explain the principles and implementations of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a controllable buoy of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates a bottom view of the exemplary buoy of FIG. 1A withmultiple attached tethered underwater vehicles.

FIG. 1C illustrates a top view of the exemplary buoy of FIG. 1A withmultiple attached tethered underwater vehicles.

FIG. 1D illustrates an exemplary controllable buoy with a tetheredunderwater vehicle deployed.

FIGS. 1E and 1F illustrate an example controllable buoy in inflated anddeflated states.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network of controllable buoys.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the way the controllable buoys can staystationary and perform acoustic beam forming and triangulation andpositioning. FIG. 3 also illustrates the way the tethered underwatervehicles can check on the health of the underwater or sea-bedinstruments or perform communication with them.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a tethered underwater vehiclecommunicating with an underwater asset.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a prioritized region.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary controllable buoy with docked underwatervehicles.

FIG. 7 illustrates a prior art energy harvesting method.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment for a spooling cable for atethered underwater vehicle.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary network of controllable buoys covering alarge area.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary network of controllable buoys capableof moving up and down under the surface of the water and also moving onthe surface

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a controllable buoy utilizingjellyfish style underwater propulsion.

FIG. 12A illustrates an embodiment of the controllable andphase-changing buoy which can change its structure from wind-driven onsurface to more hydrodynamic under the surface of the water.

FIG. 12B illustrates a closer view of the buoy depicted in FIG. 12A.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a controllable buoy when the buoycan move both on a hard surface and in the water and can send itsunderwater vehicle to monitor under the water

FIG. 14 illustrates the details of an embodiment of a controllable buoywhen the buoys can pierce itself into the ice or release itself from theice and move around

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a network of controllable buoyswhen the buoys can pierce themselves into the ice or release themselvesfrom the ice and move around.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a controllable ice piercing buoywith tethered underwater vehicles and energy collecting abilities in usefor event detection and communication.

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of a controllable and phase-changingbuoy capable of moving on the ice, on the surface of the water, andunder the surface of ice.

FIG. 18. illustrates an embodiment of a controllable buoy system in anon-terrestrial liquid lake.

FIG. 19. illustrates an embodiment of a controllable buoy system and itsdeployment in a non-terrestrial environment.

FIG. 20. illustrates an embodiment of a controllable buoy system in anon-terrestrial environment where there is a mix of hard surface andliquid bodies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the above, and other, applications, the present disclosure describescontrollable buoys with optional attached TUVs. FIGS. 1A-1C illustratean example of a buoy (100) with one or more TUVs (104). The controllablebuoy (100) can be of any shape, in this embodiment spherical. The buoy(100) can be sized appropriately for the use, for example 1 to 3 meter.

There is a cavity (108) inside the buoy (100) which can be filled withair. There is a separate chamber (101) creating a positive buoyancy,separated from the cavity (108) by a panel (102). The outer layer of thebuoy (107) can be made of flexible materials or elastomer foams, such asETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), or aerogels foams. Metallicmicrolattices could be laminated between the layers of the ETFE, orother polyurethane foams, in order to make the outer layer (107) lightso that it can take advantage of the winds and surface water-currentsfor mobility. There can be printed circuits, sensors, antennae, micromodems, micro imagers, micro spectrometers, etc., incorporated in thestructure of the buoy (100) and printed on polyimide film and laminatedbetween the layers of the outer layer (107). The materials used for theouter layers of the buoy (100) and the TUVs (104) can be appropriate formarine environments: for example, no algae should be able attach tothem. ETFE, polyurea, etc., are appropriate choices of materials forthis very reason. A biofouling or anti-stick coating can also beapplied.

The TUVs (104) can be held in a special protective container (106) fordeployment and retrieval through openings (109) at the bottom of thebuoy (100). Two or more fiberglass (or similar material) tubes (106)integrated inside the mother-buoy can hold the TUVs (104) in a stowedposition. For example, each TUV may be stowed in one tube. The end ofeach TUV-stow and launch tube can be connected to the protective chamberwhile the other end comprises of a circular opening that allows the TUVsto be launched and retrieved inside the mother-buoy.

In some embodiments, a fiberglass protective chamber (105) canencapsulate the control, communication, and the power electronicssubsystems inside the buoy. Other or alternative materials couldcomprise light and sturdy materials such as titanium. The chamber (105)can also allow access between the cavity (108) and the air pump holes(103).

FIG. 1D illustrates an exemplary buoy with multiple TUVs attached, whereone of the gliders (104) is deployed while the remaining TUVs areattached inside the buoy (100). On top of the buoy (100), there is apositive buoyancy chamber (101) that can be filled with, for example,air or oil in order to create positive buoyancy that would control howfar the buoy can submerge and ensure that the buoy (100) remains in thestable upright position shown in this figure. The buoy can comprise apanel (102) that includes solar arrays that are able to harvest sunlightto generate the electricity needed for the electronics used in thespooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100). The panel (102) canalso be used as an RF antenna for transmitting and receiving signalsfrom the orbiter (190), as shown in FIG. 1A, or as an acoustic antennawhen communication needs to be carried out with any instruments that areunder the water. In some embodiments, the panel (102) is enclosed withinthe buoy and is covered by a protective transparent dome on top of thearray. For example, the transparent buoyancy chamber (101) also servesthe function of protecting the panel (102). In some embodiments, anarray of cameras and sensors are available on the buoy (100). Thepositive buoyancy chamber (101) can be made of flexible materials suchas ETFE. A hydrophone can be used in the center of the positive buoyancychamber (101) and could be coupled with any source of low frequencyacoustic signals sent by any buoy, or instrument deeper in the ocean,and sent to the controllable spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy(100). In this way, the flexible membrane of the positive buoyancychamber (101) can resonate with the received low frequency signal asdescribed for example in US Patent No. 2003/0055359, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

One or more underwater-vehicles (104) could be carried by thecontrollable spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100). Theunderwater-vehicles (104) could be any state-of-the-art sounders,micro-submarines, gliders, jellyfish robots, or any other AUVs orunderwater robots or instruments. As shown in FIG. 1D, theunderwater-vehicle (104) is connected to the spoolingtethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100) via a cord (170). The cord (170)can transfer communication signals, and in some embodiments also power,directly between the spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100) andthe underwater-vehicle (104).

The cord (201) can be tethered around reels inside the chamber in thecenter of the buoy (105). The central chamber (105) can also contain andprotect sensors or electronics such as modems, batteries, etc. The cords(201) could be made of light but strong materials such as carbon fibersthat could transfer signals and electricity. The reels and the centralchamber (105) could be made out of carbon fibers, proper polyurethanesor ETFE, covered by polyurea coating in order to make them strong andlight. The underwater-vehicles (104) can be tethered down into thewater, through a special opening (109) in the buoy, using the reel andcontrollers inside the central chamber (105). The underwater-vehicles(104) can be made of pressure resistant materials and structures inorder to be able to dive deeper in the water where the ambient pressureis high. For example, the TUVs could be fabricated with pressureresistant and flexible structures such as ETFE. There could be circuits,sensors, antenna, micro modems, micro imagers, micro spectrometers,etc., printed on Kapton™ and laminated between the layers of the ETFE inthe structure of the underwater-vehicle (104).

The tethered underwater-vehicles (104) can be reeled up into theirspecial protective container (106). Furthermore, the imagers and sensors(103) in the buoy (100) can be drawn inside the tubes and inside thechamber (101) in order to remain protected. Therefore, the controllablespooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100) can roll freely with thewind or surface water-currents, or with the wind on ice surface when thebuoy (100) is deployed in partially frozen areas such as the Arctic (orin any other area that is a combination of hard surface and water, suchas on Titan or in Greenland in the summer time, etc.).

In some embodiments, a cavity (108) inside the spoolingtethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100), such as in FIG. 1B, can beeither inflated or deflated. For example, the cavity (108) could befilled with air and inflated using an air pump that could be integratedin the structure of the buoy (100)—for example, in (103).

FIG. 1E illustrates an example of an inflated buoy (140) and a deflatedbuoy (145). When the spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100) isinflated (140) its body is on the surface and projected to the wind andcurrents on the surface. Therefore, the buoy can move around at greatspeed. On the other hand, when the cavity (108) is deflated, for exampleby emptying the air in the cavity using an air pump, the buoy (100) isdeflated and its density increases making it submerge in the water(145). When the spooling tethered-underwater-vehicle buoy (100) issubmerged in the water, its body is less projected to the wind andtherefore, its speed decreases.

The mother-buoy (145) could remain submerged until a wind in the desireddirection blows and then it could re-inflate itself (140) in order tomove in the direction of interest. Moreover, if the wind continuouslyblows off the shore and in the open-seas this creates an Ekman spiral.In this case, by submerging the controllable buoy (100) even deeper, theEkman spiral could be used to further slow down the motion of thecontrollable buoy (100) or make it move in a different direction. Theunderwater-vehicles (104) in the water can also be used as stabilizers.When the underwater-vehicle (104) is deployed deep in the still layersof water it can act as an in-the-water anchor and can keep thecontrollable buoy (100) from moving around on the surface. Moreover, theunderwater-vehicle (104) can use its hydro-fins, propellers, and othercontrolling devices in order to move the buoy (100) on the surface inthe direction of the interest, or to prevent it (100) from moving in anundesired direction.

FIG. 1F illustrates an example of inflated (140) and deflated (145)buoy. In some embodiments the controllable buoys can change their form,for example by inflation (140) and deflation (145), in order to adjusttheir buoyancy and level of submergence, which would result in controlof their speed and direction. Additionally, if a buoy is temporarilytravelling on ice, it can control its bounciness, hence its motion, byinflation and deflation. Alternatively or in addition, a buoy can alterits buoyancy by taking in and expelling surrounding water in a reservoirwithin the buoy.

In some embodiments, the tethered underwater-vehicle (104) is connectedthrough a cord (201) (for example made out of carbon nano fibers thatcan transfer power) or a small bundle of chords (for example a fiberoptic communication cable bundled with a high tensile towing chord) tothe controllable buoy (100) on the surface. The cord (201) can transferthe communication signals and facilitate communication between theunderwater vehicle (104) and the buoy (100) on the surface. The tetheredunderwater-vehicle (104) can be connected through a cord (201) to thecontrollable buoy (100) on the surface. Therefore, if an inertialnavigation system (INS) comprised of motion sensors (accelerometers) androtation sensors (gyroscopes) are employed, the location of the tetheredunderwater-vehicle (104) under the water can be determined using theknown techniques of the art.

The tethered underwater-vehicle (104) that is connected through a cord(201) (for example, carbon nano fiber cords that can transfer power) tothe controllable buoy (100) on the surface can also transfer power usingthe known techniques of the art.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network of spoolingtethered-underwater-vehicle-carrier buoys. The mother-buoys on thesurface could tether up and down their tethered-underwater-vehiclesusing their spooling system. When the tethered-underwater-vehicles(104), equipped with acoustic signal modems, dive into the deep waterand descend beneath the thermocline layer, they could send broadcastingacoustic signals to the underwater and sea-bed structures andinstruments miles away with no distortion, as described in Refs.[11-16]. A mother-buoy on the surface could control its speed andtrajectory by adjusting its submergence and by towing fromtethered-underwater-vehicles (104). The TUVs (104) can be equipped witha hydrodynamic structure and a propeller. The tethers (201) could carryfiber optic cords in order to transfer optical communication signalsbetween the mother-buoy and its tethered-underwater-vehicles. TUVs fromdifferent mother-buoys can communicate to each-other directly byacoustic signaling, or they can communicate through their mother-buoys.For example, with the mother-buoys communicating to each other via RFand the TUVs communicating with their respective mother-buoys via wire,the TUVs can communicate with each-other through a wire-RF-wire network.

The TUVs do not have to wait until they resurface from the deep ocean inorder to transfer data to a satellite. The system can transfer data andinformation from the deepest areas under the water (the TUVs) throughthe mother-buoy to a satellite in a near-real-time manner.

Mother-buoys could stabilize their movement or stay stationary usingtheir tethered and towing tethered-vehicles and their submergence formotion control. The buoys could also communicate with other buoysthrough RF communication either in a peer-to-peer manner or through asatellite. The buoys could also collaborate with each other in order toperform acoustic beam-forming, where two or more beams, as visible inFIG. 3 (2005), from two or more buoys converge at a single location(2004) to form a signal through constructive interference. The buoyscould also perform collaborative triangulation to locate under waterstructures, instruments, or areas with diagnosed oil or gas leakage,etc.

In addition, the buoys can also give feedback on the leakage of thehazardous materials or land uplifting in the wider area around thedrilling site, or feedback on the leakage of the injected gas to thewell-head, and the hazardous materials or land uplifting in the widerarea around the drilling site. This information can be used in order tocontrol the pressure and the speed of the drilling and steam or waterinjection to prevent a disastrous event, such as exploding or leakage,etc. The buoys can also facilitate communication from the base stationto the assets deep in the water, for example to update the software ofthe underwater assets. Tethered-underwater-vehicle could recharge thebattery of the underwater assets. The TUVs can perform such task usingthe state of the art induction mechanisms. FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof a TUV (104) communicating with an underwater asset (2004).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a priority region assignation. The buoysystem may be directed to deploy in a specific area of the ocean, wherecertain regions are assigned a higher priority, for example the internalregions (810), while other regions are assigned a lower priority, forexample the outer regions (805). Some regions may also have a no-gopriority, meaning that the buoys should avoid such regions. The no-gopriority may also be an internal region to the overall assigned region,for example because of a hazardous area (such as an underwatersemi-submerged structure or an active volcano) within an area ofinterest.

In some embodiments, the TUVs can triangulate their position (and theposition of a detected event) by sending acoustic signals to nearbybuoys as illustrated in FIG. 3, for example. The TUVs (104) are able tolocate themselves and an incident (2003), such as an oil leak, andobjects that they observe (2004), such as an ocean floor sensor, bysending an acoustic signal (2005) that could be received by themother-buoys on the surface (100) in order to perform the triangulation.Since the exact location of assets under the water (2004) can bedetermined, the mother-buoys are able to send directional acoustic beams(2005) to communicate with the assets (2004) already localized. This ispossible since the mother-buoys are able to remain stationary throughtheir motion control. The buoys (100) also have access (1005) to globalclocks (1004) and are able to synchronize their clocks in order tocommunicate with the assets via phase-arrayed beams (2005). Sendingdirectional acoustic beams (2005) has the advantage of not only savingpower but also sending effective acoustic signals (2005) with higherrates deeper under water. Furthermore, it does not disturb the mammalsand also does not get easily detected by adversary agents in the oceansthe way larger angled acoustic signals do. Moreover, the TUVs (104)could be sent deeper under water in order to communicate (2006) to theassets (2004) under water and check their status.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary buoy with docked TUVs. The buoy cancomprise sensors, cameras, radars in a platform at the top of the buoy(905); an air chamber to control buoyancy and act as a low frequencyresonator chamber (910); an antenna and solar panel (915); an internalprotected chamber comprising electronics and a tow line such as carbonnanotubes (920); an inflatable outer layer with a large cavity inside(925); towing TUVs with hydrophones and acoustic transceivers (930); andhousing tubes (935) for the TUVs.

In some embodiments, the buoys can harvest energy from the motionscaused by the waves, wind, and currents. For example, a linear inductionsystem could be used, comprising light tubes covered by solenoids (1010)with moving magnets (1015) inside, as illustrated in FIG. 7 and asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, he disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment for a spooling cable for aTUV. The spooling cable (201) can have a curled shape and be housedinside the TUV (104). Alternatively, the cable could also unwind fromthe buoy instead. Therefore, a buoy's TUV could be equipped with its owninternal controllable spool and tethers integrated inside its shell tohelp the TUV maneuver at large depths, where the drag on the trailingcable may be substantial. When deployed from the TUV, the trailingtether need not contend with the drag from the long drop of the tetherfrom the mother ship.

In some embodiments, the network of buoys and TUVs can form a continuousnetworked system that can transfer communications from great distances.For example, FIG. 9 shows a wide network formed with a regular gridformed by buoys (100) about 90 km apart (1205).

For example, the buoy's TUVs can be able to descend 1000-2000 m beneaththe ocean surface and under the thermocline layer, where the TUVs cancommunicate with other underwater receivers within a 90 km radialdistance (see for example Refs. [13-16]). Hence, the acoustic signal'stravel time from a TUV transponder to any underwater node can be 60seconds or less (since sound travels at about 1.5 km/sec below 1000 m).Since the TUV can be connected to the surface via a fiber-optic link,even with message de-encryption and verification, at most there can be,in some embodiments, a 65 second delay from the receipt of a signal at amother-buoy and the subsequent receipt of that signal at a underwaternode via an acoustic broadcast. Based on these estimates, 120 TUV buoys,separated by roughly 90 km distance, could communicate with anyunderwater node in a 1,000,000 km² area.

FIG. 11. A. illustrates an exemplary network of buoys (100-U, 100-S)without TUVs, depicting one floating buoy (100-S) and one other buoy(100-U) going from underwater to the surface then back underwater. Thesebuoys can float on the surface (100-S), or control their buoyancy bysubmersing at a desired depth (100-U). When required, the buoys (100-U)can resurface, for example to transmit data. The underwater buoys(100-U) could also directly communicate with other buoys (100-S), forexample floating buoys, in order to communicate with the surface or asatellite (1004). The buoys without TUVs can comprise any of thefeatures described above for the buoys that can deploy TUVs. Thematerials, structure, composition and capabilities can all be similar,except for the capacity to deploy TUVs. Therefore, the buoys depicted inFIG. 10 can also network, transmit messages and data, and carry out beamforming together with other buoys.

FIG. 11. demonstrates another embodiment of the controllable buoy (100)which is capable of using various Bio-mimic swimming movements andtechniques similar to jellyfish robots such as RoboJellies™ (seewww.emdl.mse.vt.edu/projects/alex.html) [35] to swim up and down in theocean. The outer layer of the buoy (100) could compromise of two parts:a complete spherical layer called inner-shell (107), which covers theentire internal cavity (108) of the buoy (100). There is also anouter-shell (1077) on top of the inner-shell (107) and connected to theinner-shell and the internal structure (10033) at the top of the buoy(10772) using various joints made of ETFE or other materials mentionedherein. Both the inner-shell (107) and outer-shell (1077) could be madeof ETFE, or other flexible materials such as Dragon Skin Silicone,EcoFlex Silicone, Bell Mesoglea, in combination with Bio-Inspired Shapememory Alloy Composites (BISMAC)(iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/19/2/025013) actuators (10771). The outershell (1077) could use its actuators (10771) actively to expand andcontract its structure and mimic the movements of a jellyfish such asAurelia Aurita or similar to RoboJellies™ [35] and therefore to swim upand down in the water. When the buoy (100) is under the surface of thewater, its inner-shell (107) could get completely deflated in order tomake the entire structure of the buoy more hydrodynamic and thereforeeasier to swim down. On the other hand when the buoy (100) is on thesurface, the inner-shell (107) should be fully inflated to form a shapeof an sphere (100-S). The buoy on the surface (100-S) can take advantageof the wind and currents on the surface of the ocean, and also itssubmergence (as mentioned in this disclosure) in order to adjust itsmovement (its direction and the speed). One or more mechanical controland energy harvesting systems (10033), such as ones mentioned in theU.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, could be integrated inside the buoy (100), inorder to give the buoy more control for its movements and to help thebuoy generate power from the wind-driven and current driven motions. Onthe other hand the buoy (100) could have neither internal mechanics(10033) nor the internal-shell (107) and would be able to still work.When the buoy (100-U) is under the surface of the water, it can performswimming. When the buoy (100-S) comes to the surface, the bottom part ofthe outer-shell (1077) can come together (for example by usingBio-Inspired Shape memory Alloy Composites (BISMAC) (seeiopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/19/2/025013) actuators and have them getstiffed together in a point at the bottom of the sphere) in order toform a sphere and therefore, take advantage of the winds and currents onthe surface. Various low-mass and low-power electronics such as theimagers, sensors, avionics, communication transceivers and antenna(e.g., for RF, optic, or acoustic), thin-film batteries and solar cells,and other electronics mentioned in Table 1, could be imprinted onKapton™ or other circuitry printable materials, and laminated inside theETFE layers which compromise the outer-shell (1077) or the inner-shell(107) of the controllable buoy (100). The disclosed techniques hereinallow the entire structure of the buoy (100) to be covered by varioussensors, imagers, antenna, and energy harvesting materials (solar) andenable the buoy (100) to be efficient (in terms of the variousmonitoring tasks it can perform). Having a large antenna can help thebuoy have a better communication with other assets in the ocean. Havinga large area for solar or other energy harvesting techniques (such asones mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892) can allow it to generate alarge amount of power from the sun (when the buoy (100-S) is on thesurface) or from movements or thermoelectricity techniques when the buoy(100-U) is under the surface of the water. The current state-of-art inbio-mimic swimming robots, does not suggest using ETFE and laminatedelectronics any flexible circuitry printable thin films and imprintedcircuits covering and laminated over the flexible their bodies. Instead,they use a small waterproof chamber, usually on top of the robot, inorder to hold the electronics and sensors used for the robot: forexample, RoboJellies™ [36]. These make space available for theelectronics (e.g. sensors), and energy harvesting (e.g. solar cells),and therefore the quality of their performance very limited.

FIGS. 12A and 12B demonstrate another embodiment of the controllablebuoy (100). The structure of the buoy (100) is phase changing and canswim up and down in the oceans and move on the surface of the water. Thebuoy (100) has compromised of two parts: its internal and optionallyrigid shell containing various control systems (10033) such as buoyancyengine, the propeller, etc. to help the buoy move in the water; and itsouter and preferably flexible shell (10077) in order to mimic thejellyfish-robots and squid-robots and help the buoy swim inside theocean. The other sell can be made of sturdy and pressure resistantmaterials such as Titanium, steel, fiberglass, ETFE, PTFE, nano carbonfibers, etc. The outer-shell (10077) could be made of ETFE incombination with other flexible materials such as Dragon Skin™ silicone,EcoFlex™ silicone, Bell Mesoglea™. Various actuators such as theBio-Inspired Shape memory Alloy Composites (BISMAC™)(iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/19/2/025013) actuators (10771) could beintegrated in the flexible (10077) in order to give it flexibility andcontrol to contract and expand and can use the state-of-the-artbio-mimic swimming methods similar to RoboJellies™(www.emdl.mse.vt.edu/projects/alex.html) [35] and move inside the water.In this example embodiment, the outer shell (1077) can be comprised ofslices (10770) of movable and swimming parts, contrary to the exampleembodiment in FIG. 11, where the outer-shell was more similar to a skirtor a jellyfish. Several sensors, energy harvesting, and electronicscould be integrated and laminated inside the outer shell (1077) usingthe methods and materials mentioned in FIG. 10 or the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892. When the buoy (100-S) is on the surface, the other-shell'sslices could come together, using their actuators, to form a sphere. Atelescoping chamber (10033), where a buoyancy engine or the propellercan reside, can also be used to transform the shape of the buoy betweenelongated and spherical. When the buoy is on the surface (100-S) and inspherical shape, it can take advantage of the stronger winds andcurrents to move faster. The slices (10770) can also help the buoy(100-S) to change its buoyancy and therefore submergence in order tocontrol its speed against the winds and currents, as described herein.Moreover, the slices (10770) could use their actuators in order tochange the structure of the buoy against the wind and therefore, tocontrol the buoy's trajectory (similar to sailing).

The internal mechanics (10033) could be such that they would be able tochange their structure, in order to make them more hydrodynamic whenthey need to sink and move into the deeper waters. For example, a longertube or chamber, containing a propeller or a buoyancy engine, can beelongated when the buoy moves under the surface of the water.Conversely, the longer-tube or chamber can be retracted and becomeshorter when the buoy returns to the surface, changing its shape to asphere, or some other aerodynamic shape, to take advantage of thestronger winds and currents on the surface of the sea for theirmobility.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the controllable buoy is on the water its TUVcan be dropped in the water in order to go deeper in the water andperform tasks such as monitoring the area, mapping the ice, orperforming sonar detection or acoustic communication (305, 2005) withthe under the surface of ice and in the underwater assets. Themother-buoy and TUV can use various detectors, imagers such as sonars,radars, optic and infrared cameras, or sensors for monitoring in thewater and under the surface of ice. They can also use various RF, optic,laser, or acoustic modems transceivers to perform communication (e.g.,the sensors in Table 1).

FIG. 14 demonstrates an example embodiment of the controllable andmoving buoy (100) and (10020) equipped with an ice penetrating andsticking mechanism and instruments in order to penetrate through andbecome temporarily stuck in the ice. The ice-penetrating and moving buoy(10020) can use ice-sticking techniques in order to control the movementof the buoy and make it stable in an area of interest (for example, whenthe wind is blowing and the buoy shouldn't move), or when the buoy needsto monitor under the surface of the ice. The buoy (10020) can use themechanics (10033), such as ones described in the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892, to move around (10055), to harvest the abundance of the windin the polar region (such as ones as described in the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892 and developed and studied in reference [35]), or to stickitself inside the ice. One or more ice-penetrating tubes (10012) holdinga TUV (104), a stick, or a drill could be attached to the buoy'sinternal mechanics (10033). Therefore, the tube can be lowered orretrieved up using the same mechanical control systems mentioned in theU.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892.

The ice-penetrating tube (10012) can be made of titanium, aluminum,fiber glass, carbon fibers, PTFE, etc. and can be equipped with variousice-penetrating tools and materials such as the state of art heaters orelectrical coils which generate heats. For example: entire or parts ofthe tube could be made or covered with electrical heaters such as: MicroElectric™ electrical heaters (see, e.g.,www.microelectricheaters.com/tubularheaters.htm) or a coil around theice-penetrating tube (201) that would generate heat when the electricitypasses the coil, radio isotope heater units (see, e.g.,solarsystem.nasa.gov/rps/rhu.cfm), a heater unit that utilizes fuels orpropellant to generate heat, chemicals that generate heat when in touchwith ice and water (e.g., alkali metals), or a silicon heater pad (forexample, see www.omega.com/pptst/SRFR_SRFG.html).

After the tube or the stick would successfully finish melting the icearound them, the cold ambient temperature would make the melted ice tofreeze around the tube or the stick. This would make the ice-penetratingtube firmly affixed inside the ice (00001), which in turn would make theattached buoys (100) pinned into the ice and become stationary. The buoy(10020) is able to unstick itself from the ice, using the same heating,chemical, or drilling techniques mentioned in above, while using itsmechanical control system (10033) to pull its tube (10012) back upinside its inner structure).

When the tube (10012) is penetrated through the ice (00001), and when itreaches the water (00002) beneath the ice, the buoy's central controlsystem, either residing in the buoy itself or controlled by the signalsand commands received from the satellite (1004) or the other buoys andassets in the area, can launch the TUV (104) into the water to monitorthe under the ice. Various ice and water detecting, temperature,salinity, various chemicals sensors (e.g., the ones mentioned in theU.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 or in Table 1), can be integrated inside thetube in order to collect the necessary information about the status ofice and water to facilitate the system's (1000) decision to launch orretrieve the TUV (104).

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of the controllable networked buoy system(1000) when the buoy (10020) is capable of moving (10055) on the surfaceof the ice, or when it gets pinned inside the ice (using the techniquesmentioned above). The buoy (10020), when stuck into the ice, has itsupper-part (10011) able to communicate (1005) (e.g., RF, optic, laser)with other buoys or assets (1004) on the surface and above the surfaceof the ice (e.g., satellites, airplanes, etc.). The buoy's lower part(10012), which is inside and under the ice, can use variouscommunication techniques such as acoustic, RF, or laser (e.g., TexasInstruments™ TMS320C5416 DSP or WHOI™ Micro-Modem™ [34] or the onesmentioned in Table. 1), to perform communication (2005) with assetsunder the surface of the ice. A cable (201) connecting the buoy to itsTUV (104) provides wired communications (RF or optic) between the TUVs(104) and their mother-buoys (100). Therefore, the network of buoys(1000) illustrated in the FIG. 15, including the buoys' upper-parts(10011), lower-parts (10012), and their tethered TUVs (104), can performcollaborative positioning, communication, and monitoring tasks the samemanner as described herein.

FIG. 16, shows another example embodiment of the controllable networkedbuoy system (1000) when the buoys (10030) are stuck into the ice and arenot able to get themselves unstuck and move around, as it was the casefor the previous example embodiment buoy (10020). The buoys (10030) canpenetrate inside the ice by assistance from some personnel or crew, or arobot using various ice-penetrating techniques such as drilling,heating, chemicals. The upper-part (10011) of the buoy can be capable ofperforming communication (1005) with other buoys (10011) in thenetworked buoy system (1000) using various RF or laser or opticalsystems. The lower-part (10012) of the buoy can perform tasks such aspositioning, monitoring, and communication (2005) (acoustic, RF, laser,etc.) with other assets under the water. The TUVs (104) connected via atether (201) to their mother-buoys (10030). The lower-part (10012) ofthe buoy can be equipped with various sensors and detectors (sonar,infrared, optic, etc.), for example the ones mentioned either in Table 1or previously suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, to detect ice,detect water, and monitor temperatures and salinity. A smart spoolingsystem as described herein can be integrated inside the upper-part(10011), in order to launch the TUV (104) or retract it based on theinformation received from the sensors and ice and water detectors, or anexternal command receives from a satellite (1004) or other buoys (10030)in the area. The buoy (10030) can be equipped with energy harvestingequipment, such as a wind turbine (771) or solar cells (770), forexample the ones suggested in Table 1, to generate power for itsactivities (communication, control, sensing, etc.).

FIG. 16, shows another example embodiment of the controllable buoy (100)which can use its mechanical control systems, such as the ones describedat the U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 and references [25], [26], and [33], inorder to move on the surface of ice (00001), on the surface of the water(00002) and under the surface of the ice (00001). The buoy (10041) onthe surface of the water can also use the submergence mechanisms, suchas the ones described herein and in the U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, tocontrol its movement on the surface of the water (00002). Furthermore,the buoy 10042) can use the submergence and its internal control systemin order to sink under the surface of the ice, while its shell wouldtouch the ice from underneath of the ice. The buoy (10042) can use thesame mechanical techniques mentioned in the U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892 tocreate torque and make the buoy's shell to roll under the surface of theice. The buoy (10042) can create more positive buoyancy (by gettinginflated a bit) in order to facilitate its staying on the surface of thewater and under the ice on the surface. Various sensors and electronics,such as sonar, radar, temperature, (for example from Table 1), can beused to survey ice, test for anomaly or chemical species inside the iceand water, or measure the thickness of the ice when positioned under theice. The buoy (10041) and (10042) could be a number of embodiments ofthe disclosure have been described. Nevertheless, it is understood thatvarious modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments arewithin the scope of the following claims.

FIG. 18, demonstrates and an example embodiment of the controllablenetworked of buoy systems (1000) in the liquid lakes on the planetarymoon, Titan. The spooling-tethered-underwater-vehicle-carrier buoy (100)can be made of materials, electronics, tools, rigidized designs andtechniques mentioned in this disclosure or in the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892. For example the buoy (100) can be made of ETFE which ischemically, permeability, and abrasion resistant over a temperaturerange of −300° F. to +300° F. (−185° C. to +150° C.) ETFE (seewww.boedeker.com/etfe_p.htm for ETFE specifications). The mother-buoy onthe surface (100) can be attached through a wired tethered wire andcords (201) to the TUV (104) which could be a glider, submarine, sounderor other instrument such as radar, sonar, various sensors (includingbio-MEMS), and imagers and tools (e.g., the ones mentioned in Table 1)to perform various scientific tests and tasks on or under the surface ofthe lakes, or at the seafloor of the lakes. The shell of mother-buoy(100) on the surface and also the TUV (104) and their tethers (201), cancomprise of various imprinted sensors, and electronic circuits such asantenna, transceivers, batteries, and energy harvesting subsystems,printed on Kapton™ and laminated in ETFE. The mother buoys (100) and itsTUV could have wired communication (either optical using fiber opticcables, or RF using copper or silver cables, as explained in thisdisclosure). This will provide a real-time communication between the TUV(104) and its mother-buoy (100) on the surface and thereby, with thepassing by orbiters (1004) when in view. The spoolingtethered-underwater-carrier buoys (100) as described here have greatadvantages over the current exploration concepts suggested for Titanlakes. For example the Titan Mare Explorer (TIME) (seewww.nasa.gov/pdf/580675main_(—)02_Ellen_Stofan_TiME_.pdf) or TitanSubmarine (TS) concept to discover under the surface of the Titan lakes(seewww.nasa.gov/content/titan-submarine-exploring-the-depths-of-kraken/#.VWzDcWRViko).The spooling tethered-under-liquid-vehicle buoy (100) disclosed herecould both monitor the surface of the Titan lakes (using the mother-buoyon the surface) and under the surface of the lakes and the seafloor(using its TUVs (104)) at the same time. The disclosed buoy (100) canprovide real time communication between the under the surface vehicleTUV (104) and the orbiter. This can have great advantages, as thescientists and technologists on Earth would be able to control the TUVwhen under the lake in a real time. This is especially important whenunder the surface vehicle, would witness an important scientific eventand the scientists might be interested to have the vehicle stay therefor a while and perform further tests and study. Exact positioning andnavigation for underwater vehicles, even on the earth and for the knownoceans is a very difficult task if not impossible. However, thedisclosed buoy (100) and its TUV (104) and the networked buoy (1000),using all the methods mentioned in this disclosure, has reliablepositioning for their underwater vehicles (104) and the scientificmeasurements performs by either the mother-buoy (100) or its TUV (104).

In FIG. 19, a sample embodiment of a controllable networked-buoys (1000)has been demonstrated while the buoys (100) are getting deployed onTitan, (or any other planetary body such as Europa, comets) using adeployer (8880). The deployer (8880) could be a lander, a parachute, oran aeroshell (similar to ones used for MSL or Philae). The deployer(8880) can carry and deploy several numbers of the controllable buoys(100) and would distribute them over a vast area of the planetary body.The buoys (100) can use the ambient wind or their internal controlsystems, such as those disclosed herein or in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892,in order to move on the hard terrains (mountains, ground, ice etc.). Onthe other hand, when the buoys (100) drop into the liquid lakes they canfunction as drifters, using the materials (e.g. ETFE), designs andtechniques, as mentioned in this disclosure or in the U.S. Pat. No.8,912,892. The embodiment buoys (100) which can carry TUVs, are able tolaunch or release their UTVs (104) in order to discover under thesurface of the liquid lakes, where they have dropped (similar to FIG.18). The example embodiments of the buoy (100) shown in the FIG. 19 canhave their sensors, electronics, antenna, imagers, etc. printed orlaminated inside its outer layer shell. Similar techniques and material,such as those described herein or in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, could beused to design and manufacture the shell, and to securely integrate theelectronics inside the shell. As seen in this disclosure and thispicture (FIG. 19), there is an advantage that the buoy (100) has overthe TS (the Titan Submarine concept, explained earlier) in that thebuoys (100) disclosed herein are able to discover and explore all typesof terrains and lakes, such as mountains, sand dunes, lakes, andstreams.

FIG. 20 demonstrates that an example embodiment of the controllable buoy(100), which can use its mechanical control system, such as thosementioned herein or in U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,892, to move on the areascomprise of a combination of the hard terrains (such as rocks, sanddunes, or ice sheets) and the liquid (such as puddles, streams or thelakes) on Titan. When the buoy (100) drops in the liquid, it can releaseits TUV (104) under the surface of the liquid. Both the mother-buoy(100) on the surface and the TUV (104), can use their various sensorsimagers, or detectors, (for example some of the ones in Table. 1) tomonitor and collect information about the surface and under the surfaceof the liquid and the ice sheets or the rocks around the lake or thestream. There is an advantage for the buoys disclosed herein over the TS(Titan Submarine) or other drifters suggested for exploring Titan lakes.The buoys (100) disclosed herein are capable of moving from hard surfaceto a liquid puddle, lake, or stream and vice versa. Moreover, if thereare multiple puddles and streams, or lakes in an area, the buoys (100)can explore one lake and then get out of it and move to another liquidlake or area.

The examples set forth above are provided to those of ordinary skill inthe art as a complete disclosure and description of how to make and usethe embodiments of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit thescope of what the inventor/inventors regard as their disclosure.

Modifications of the above-described modes for carrying out the methodsand systems herein disclosed that are obvious to persons of skill in theart are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. Allpatents and publications mentioned in the specification are indicativeof the levels of skill of those skilled in the art to which thedisclosure pertains. All references cited in this disclosure areincorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference hadbeen incorporated by reference in its entirety individually.

It is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to particularmethods or systems, which can, of course, vary. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to belimiting. As used in this specification and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless thecontent clearly dictates otherwise. The term “plurality” includes two ormore referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Unlessdefined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which the disclosure pertains.

The references in the present application, shown in the reference listbelow, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

LIST OF REFERENCES All Incorporated by Reference Herein

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What is claimed is:
 1. A buoy comprising: a shell; at least onecommunication device; at least one energy-providing device; at least onepropulsion unit; and an extendible tube comprising a means forpenetrating ice.
 2. The buoy of claim 1, wherein the means forpenetrating ice comprises a heating element.
 3. The buoy of claim 1,wherein the shell is inflatable and comprises a chamber, the chamberconfigured to contain a fluid, and wherein the chamber comprises a pumpto control a volume of the fluid within the chamber, thereby controllingbuoyancy, and wherein the buoy further comprises an electroniccontroller module located in a rigid protective chamber at a center ofthe inflatable shell, the electronic controller module comprising aprocessor.
 4. The buoy of claim 1, wherein the at least onecommunication device comprises a radio frequency transceiver and anacoustic transceiver.
 5. The buoy of claim 1, wherein the at least oneenergy-providing device comprises an energy harvesting device and abattery.
 6. The buoy of claim 5, wherein the energy harvesting devicecomprises an electromagnetic generator, a wave generator or a solararray.
 7. The buoy of claim 6, wherein the electromagnetic generatorcomprises at least one tube, at least one solenoid surrounding the tube,and at least one magnet within the tube, configured to move within thetube when the buoy is moving.
 8. The buoy of claim 6, wherein the shellis spherical and comprises a transparent dome at its top, and whereinthe solar array is located beneath the transparent dome.
 9. The buoy ofclaim 3, wherein the buoy is configured to deploy at any water depth upto sea floor.
 10. The buoy of claim 9, further comprising at least onesensor, wherein the at least one communication device is configured totransmit and receive data from the at least one sensor.
 11. The buoy ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a camera, abiochemical sensor, a radiation sensor or a pressure sensor.
 12. Thebuoy of claim 1, wherein the buoy is configured to enter a lower-energyconsumption state with reduced activity, and to enter a higher-energyconsumption state upon reception of a wake-up signal.
 13. The buoy ofclaim 1, wherein the propulsion unit is an artificial jellyfishpropulsion unit.
 14. The buoy of claim 1, wherein the propulsion unitcomprises a jetting unit and a paddle unit.
 15. The buoy of claim 8,wherein the transparent dome comprises a low frequency resonator. 16.The buoy of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor comprises ahydrophone and the at least one communication device comprises anacoustic transceiver.
 17. The buoy of claim 5, wherein the energyharvesting device is configured to generate energy from a temperaturegradient in water, the temperature gradient being between a temperatureat the water surface and a temperature underwater.
 18. The buoy of claim1, wherein the buoy is configured to deploy at a specific water depthbased on an Ekman spiral.
 19. The buoy of claim 3, wherein the buoy isconfigured to submerge a majority of its shell under the water surface.20. A network of buoys comprising a plurality of buoys as in claim 1,the buoys configured to communicate and coordinate among each other. 21.A method to organize a plurality of buoys, the method comprising:providing a plurality of buoys, each buoy comprising: a shell; at leastone sensor; at least one communication device; at least oneenergy-providing device; at least one processor; and at least onepropulsion unit; and programming the plurality of buoys with a pluralityof contingencies and behaviors.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein theplurality of contingencies comprise at least one of: detecting a vehicleentering a designated area, detecting a communication signal within thedesignated area, detecting a natural event within the designated area,taking a measurement within the designated area, and receiving anassignment to deploy within the designated area for surveillance. 23.The method of claim 22, wherein the designated area is on anon-terrestrial body.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein thenon-terrestrial body is Titan.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein theplurality of behaviors comprise assigning a location to each buoy of theplurality of buoys, coordinating signal emissions from a subset of buoysof the plurality of buoys thereby enabling beam forming, deploying asubset of buoys at a specific water depth, or triangulating a positionof an object.
 26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: deploying,at a water depth under a thermocline level, a first subset of buoys ofthe plurality of buoys; and sending communication signals between thefirst subset of buoys under the thermocline level.
 27. The method ofclaim 26, further comprising: transmitting the communication signalsfrom the first subset of buoys to a second subset of buoys of theplurality of buoys.
 28. The method of claim 21, further comprising:detecting or calculating an Ekman spiral of velocity vectors underwater;and determining a specified water depth based on the detected orcalculated Ekman spiral, the specified water depth having a velocity ina desired direction different from a velocity at the water top surface;and deploying a subset of buoys at the specified water depth.
 29. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the object is a buoy, a tethered vehicle, anunderwater industrial asset or a vehicle.
 30. The method of claim 21,further comprising: providing a subset of buoys each with at least onechamber containing at least one biochemical compound; detecting anindustrial pollution accident; and cleaning a designated area atdifferent depths, with the at least one biochemical compound, bydeploying each buoy at the different water depths.